The Camera Doesn't Lie
by SocratesJackson
Summary: Rikki is feeling restless and wants to see the world. Zane makes a startling proposal that sets in motion a chain of events that no one could have foreseen... A sequel to A Meeting of Mermaids and Californian Quandary. Set after Emma has returned home, about a year after the end of Season 3.
1. The Proposal

**The Camera Doesn't Lie**

 **A sequel to _A Meeting of Mermaids_ and _Californian Quandary_ : **

**Rikki is feeling restless and wants to see the world. Zane makes a startling proposal that sets in motion a chain of events that no one could have** **forseen...**

 **Standard disclaimer: The H2O universe is not my own, the characters from H2O: Just Add Water are not mine, but the Yanks and this story are.**

* * *

 **The Proposal**

Life was settling down for Rikki and Zane and the café. Their new American friends had gone home to California, but with a promise to visit someday. Rikki had hired new wait staff to replace the girls; this time each candidate got the "spilled water" test just to make sure there weren't any surprises later on. Although not as good as the Yanks the new staff proved to be competent and soon Rikki found that she didn't have to spend so much time at the café. That meant more frequent swims with her best friends Cleo and Emma.

Bella and Will were still on their trip to Ireland; occasionally a text or email would arrive with information of a more sensitive nature, like about how they found the pool and that the magic was still alive there. More often than not, though, Bella would simply post pictures and status on Facebook. Rikki could sense that the two were getting more serious in their relationship; she half expected an engagement announcement any day.

As for her and Zane, well, their relationship still had its ups and downs, although Zane didn't do quite as many stupid things as he used to do. He was actually getting very dependable and sometimes Rikki caught herself thinking about their future. She sometimes envied Emma and Ash who were engaged but still hadn't set a date yet. Their relationship seemed rock solid. And Cleo and Lewis were still getting used to each other being close again after their year and a half apart; Rikki fully expected them to make the big commitment soon.

Rikki's biggest fear was that something would happen and the other girls would be gone, leaving her behind. 'There's more to life than the café,' she thought to herself, and the others knew it. When Emma told stories about her trip around the world it made Rikki long to experience it herself. Maybe it was time to take a break and go out into the world.

Even though the secondary tourist season had started, with visitors from the southern states arriving in droves to escape the cold winter weather, the café was still running smoothly. The Gold Coast's weather was nice and moderate at this time of year; the lows did dip into the teens but the highs never got above 22; nice and comfortable.

On a very moderate winter day in the middle of July, Rikki was sitting in the office of the café relaxing. Since she had finished training the new shift managers the week earlier Rikki found that she now had a lot of free time on her hands. She used to just dive in and help where she was most needed; now she was content to let her employees work without her interfering.

The door opened and Zane entered, giving her a smile, which Rikki returned. Instead of spitting out her standard sarcastic greeting Rikki kept her mouth shut and simply waited for Zane to talk first.

"Hey, Rikki, things are running pretty smooth out there," Zane told her, coming around and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes they are, thanks to me hiring Susan and Jody as the shift managers," Rikki said. "They are so much better than Sophie ever was."

"You're right; that was pretty stupid of me," Zane said with a half grin. "Which you don't let me forget."

Rikki laughed; she still loved to bait Zane but lately she found herself not wanting to take it very far. Rikki then sat back in the chair and her attitude turned serious.

"I just wish I didn't have to always keep an eye on this place," Rikki told him as he sat on the desk. "It is running really well now, but…"

"Thanks to you," Zane said.

"Yeah, I know," Rikki said with a wistful look.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked.

"Oh, everyone else is off having fun and we're stuck here," Rikki explained.

"You mean like Will and Bella, or even Cleo and Lewis?" Zane asked.

"Yeah, like them," Rikki replied. "I guess I'm worried that they'll decide to go off and we'll be left alone, stuck here in the Gold Coast."

"There's Mako," Zane said.

"Yes, Mako's here," Rikki said. "But…"

"No, I understand," Zane said. "So I have a plan to help us out…"

"Oh no, what have you done, Zane?" Rikki asked, worried.

"So I could tell that you were getting restless, so I've been working on a plan to relieve you from having to run the café on a day-to-day basis," Zane explained. "Remember Wilfred, who used to manage the JuiceNet? Well, he came by the other day while you were out with Cleo and Emma and talked to me about getting a job."

"What did you tell him?" Rikki asked.

"That we were considering hiring a full-time manager to run the café, that he'd be perfect for the job, but that I'd talk with you about it to see if you approved," Zane explained.

Rikki thought about it. It was actually a very good idea; Wilfred had expertise running the place before and had a good sense for business. If she were to turn running the café over to him she'd have a lot of free time on her hands; enough to spend with her friends and maybe also go off and see some of the world.

"If you don't like the idea I can always tell him no," Zane said.

"No, it's perfect," Rikki replied, and came around the desk and gave Zane a kiss. "Well done!"

"Really?" Zane exclaimed. "Wow, I don't think I've ever done that before. You'd better marry me quick before I screw up something else."

"What did you say?" Rikki asked. "Do you know what you just said?"

"Yes I do," Zane replied.

"Do you mean it?" Rikki asked. "The part about us getting married?"

"Yes, with all my heart," Zane said simply. "Rikki Chadwick, I want to marry you. Will you marry me?"

Yes their relationship had had its ups and downs, but had smoothed out and was running along very well. She'd have to keep an eye on him in case he had any more dumb ideas, but this idea, well, this was his best idea yet. Rikki tried to keep her face impassive as she thought, wondering how he would react, but Zane waited patiently for her answer. Rikki's heart gave a leap and she smiled.

"Yes," Rikki said and a tear slid out of her eye and down her cheek.

"Hey, you're crying," Zane said, wiping off the tear.

"And if you tell anyone I cried I'll seriously hurt you!" Rikki said.

She threw her arms around him and held him close.

"So, when?" Rikki asked. "You don't want to wait like Emma and Ash, do you?"

"No, I think we should get married right away, and then go off on a long honeymoon away from here!"

"That sounds great!" Rikki exclaimed. "Where would we go?"

"Oh, for starters, how about Fiji, or Hawaii?" Zane replied. "I know you've mentioned both several times in the past."

"Yes I have, but you said for starters?" Rikki asked. "What else did you have in mind?"

"We could go to California, maybe drop by and see the Yanks," Zane said. "You'd love to swim with them again, maybe check out their Moon Pool."

"That's a great idea!" Rikki told him giving him another kiss.

"I should have proposed months ago," Zane said after the kiss ended.

"I would have said no then," Rikki said with a smile. "No, your timing is very good this time."

Zane gave her a smile back.

"So when would you want to do this?" Zane asked. "And how big of a wedding do you want?"

"Something small, on the beach I think," Rikki replied. "Not big; I'm not one for impressing everyone."

"You've impressed me," Zane told her, getting another kiss from her by way of reply.

"So it's the middle of July, oh, how about the first week in September?" Rikki asked. "That'll give us a month to get ready."

"Sounds fine to me," Zane told her. "Who do you want to help you?"

Rikki through about her family; her dad would definitely come, but she could care less about her mum. Besides, she hadn't seen her in years. She was closer to Emma's mom and Cleo's stepmom Samantha than her own mum. Maybe one of them would help her out. She thought about her Yank friends and wished they were around; they'd be great help.

"You know, I'm going to text Rowan," Rikki said. "See if we could drop by after the wedding."

"Sounds good; I'll go call Wilfred and give him the good news," Zane said and after giving Rikki another kiss left her in the office.

Rikki got out her phone and composed a text for Rowan, then sent it off.

* * *

Back in San Rafael Rowan was just getting ready to meet Melanie and Tanya down at the harbor for a swim out through the bay. Paul was about ready to head off to Jake's house to meet him and Stephen there to watch the game. Sadly Seth and Jackie were currently down in LA; it was time to bring them back up and get the four mermaids back together for some quality time in the Muir Beach pool.

"Ping!"

Rowan's phone signaled the arrival of a text message. Rowan dug the phone out of her purse and opened the message app.

"Oh, cool, it's from Rikki," Rowan told Paul after reading the note.

Paul was just heading out to the garage but hesitated at the door.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Looks like a date has been set for a wedding."

"Ah, someone has finally decided to take the plunge," Paul said. "Who's wedding is it; Emma's? Or has Cleo and Lewis finally gotten engaged?"

"Actually, neither," Rowan replied with a smile.

"What, Will finally proposed to Bella? That took long enough."

"Actually, its Rikki and Zane."

"What? The fakers! Pretending they didn't want to commit and settle down and now they'll be the first," Paul said, grinning, remembering the Aussies' relationship when they had left them a few months earlier. "So when is it?"

Rowan typed in her response and sent it off. Moments later the reply came in with a ping. Rowan read the text and got a big smile on her face.

"September; just about 5 weeks," Rowan said. "And guess where they're going on their honeymoon?"

"Uh, Sydney?" Paul joked.

"No, Hawaii and then Northern California," Rowan said. "She wants to know if it is okay for them to drop by."

"Okay? Tell her of course its okay and if she doesn't come by we'll go to Hawaii and break up their honeymoon!" Paul said.

"We will not say that," Rowan said. "But I'll tell her they are more than welcome and that they can stay here!"

"Great," Paul said.

* * *

"Rowan says they'd love for us to come and stay with them," Rikki told Zane when the reply came.

"That'll be fun," Zane said.

There was a quiet pause while Zane waited for Rikki to finish sending to Rowan.

"So, are you ready to tell the others?" Zane asked.

"They are really going to razz us, aren't they?" Rikki asked.

"Probably," Zane replied. "But you'll tell 'em off in your own way."

"Just watch me glare them into silence," Rikki said.

* * *

Continued with Chapter 2, Confessions


	2. Confessions

**Confessions - Chapter 2 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

* * *

The only thing that Rikki would tell the others was that they needed to be at the café on Saturday night; that there was a problem to discuss. There was no plan for music; besides, Bella and Will weren't back from Ireland yet. Rikki wasn't happy about springing their news on the group when not everyone was there, but they didn't want to wait as they had a wedding to plan.

So it was a big surprise when two days prior to the gathering they got word from Sophie, Will's sister, that the two would be back in town the following day. The news that all of their closest friends would be at the party made Rikki very happy, and therefore Zane very happy as well.

A half an hour before the others were supposed to arrive Zane and Rikki shooed the last customers out of the café and then after a quick cleanup sent the staff home. So when their friends started to arrive the café was quiet, with only soft music playing over the sound system.

"Hey guys, what's the problem?" Emma asked as she and Ash walked into the café. "Denham's not around again, is she?"

"No, nothing like that," Rikki told her. "No comets, no crazy scientists, no renegade mermaids, no threats to the Moon pool, no bad news, nothing like that."

"Then what's the problem?" Ash asked.

"I want to wait until everyone is here," Rikki told him.

"Too bad Bella and Will won't be here," Emma said, grabbing a chair.

"Who won't be here?" came a familiar voice from the door.

Bella and Will were standing there with big smiles on their faces.

"Bella! Will! Oh I'm so glad you're back!" Rikki exclaimed and rushed to give Bella a hug.

Ash and Emma greeted Will and Bella, albeit a bit more reserved. Yes, Bella was a mermaid like the others, but they didn't know each other as well as the others did, due to Emma being away for a year traveling around the world with her family and Ash going to school in Sydney. But they had gotten to know each other before Will and Bella had left for Ireland.

"So when did you guys get back from your trip?" Emma asked after they had greeted each other.

"Yesterday," Bella said. "We hadn't even had a chance to contact anyone before Rikki calls, explaining that there was a problem."

"So here we are," Will said.

"Right, so what's going on?" Bella asked.

"We need to wait until the others get here," Rikki explained. "So first tell me about Ireland; you found the pool, we saw."

"Yes, still there and there are plenty of moonstones, all glowing," Bella told them. "We almost had an accident, though."

"What happened?" Zane asked.

"Hey, is that Bella and Will?" Cleo asked from the doorway, with Lewis right behind her. "Oh, wow; welcome back!"

Bella ran and gave Cleo and Lewis hugs and led them back to the others, where hellos were exchanged.

"What's going on, Rikki?" Cleo asked.

"First things first: Bella was telling us about Ireland," Rikki told Cleo once they were all seated in a circle. "Something about an almost accident."

"Oh, right," Bella said. "Well, we found the moon pool and went on the day before the full moon to check it out and the tunnels. But we were off by a day."

"Yeah, I was just getting ready to get into the pool when the moonlight hit it and the water started bubbling," Will said. "If I had been in the pool who knows what could have happened."

"You could have gotten a tail," Rikki said.

"Maybe," Will said. "Does anyone know if men can get a tail?"

"What would that be; a merman?" Zane asked.

"Yeah," Will said.

"I've never heard of it, and Miss Chatham never mentioned mermen," Cleo said.

"Interesting concept there," Lewis said and everyone got quiet, thinking about what would happen to the guys if they grew tails.

"So Rikki, what's the problem?" Cleo asked.

"Yeah, why did you want us to come by?" Emma asked also.

Rikki gave Zane a quick glance and he nodded, giving her a comforting smile.

"Well, I've got a big problem and I'm not sure how to resolve it," Rikki said. "I don't want to have to hurt any of you."

"What are you talking about, Rikki?" Cleo asked. "Did we do something to you?"

"No, but you might try and if you do, so help me God, I will come after you!" Rikki said.

"Would you just tell us what is going on!" Emma exclaimed. "Zane, do you know?"

"Yes, but I'm not saying anything," Zane said with a grin.

"Rikki; spill it!" Bella told her.

"Okay, don't get your tails in a knot," Rikki said. "You know how we're going to be the last ones to get married, after the rest of you?"

Seeing blank looks Rikki continued.

"Well, that's not true anymore," Rikki said.

"What!"

"You mean…"

"Oh, I can't wait to…" Cleo started to say.

"Remember, I will hurt you if you try to give me a hard time," Rikki said. "Yes, Zane and I are engaged."

"Congratulations!" Ash said to Zane. "How did you get her to agree to that?"

"Ash, I'm warning you…" Rikki said.

"Okay, no jokes," Ash said with a grin. "Seriously, good for you two!"

The rest of the friends congratulated Rikki and Zane on their engagement, with lots of hugs between the girls and handshakes between the guys.

"So have you set a date yet?" Emma asked. "Or is it sometime in the future, like ours?"

"September 2nd," Rikki said. "I know it's soon, but we want to get married quick and get started on the honeymoon."

"I'll bet you do," Cleo said with a smirk.

Rikki turned bright red, realizing what she just said. She looked at Zane for support but found him with a stupid grin on his face.

"That's not what I meant," Rikki said. "We want to get away from the café and go traveling."

"Of course," Emma said with a straight face.

"I am going to hurt you all!" Rikki said, then smiled and laughed. "Wow, I can't believe I said that!"

"I guess you'll be getting married first," Emma said. "I thought at first that it'd be us, but…"

Will and Bella exchanged a guilty look between them.

"Um, that's not entirely accurate," Bella confessed.

"Wait; what do you mean, Bella?" Rikki asked.

"Um, before Will and I left for Ireland we went to the Brisbane Registry Office," Bella confessed.

"You're married?" Cleo asked. "And you didn't tell us?"

"I'm sorry," Bella said sheepishly. "It was a spur of the moment thing and then we were gone and we were afraid you would get mad so we wanted to tell you once we got back, and, well…"

"So we told you first," Will said. "We haven't even told Sophie."

"She's going to be pissed," Zane said.

The friends all congratulated Will and Bella on their marriage and made them promise not to keep secrets from them anymore.

* * *

"So when are you two going to get engaged?" Rikki asked Cleo in private as everyone was celebrating.

"Oh, we're not ready for that yet," Cleo said. "Maybe sometime in the future, but not yet."

* * *

 _Continued in Chapter 3, The Wedding._

What do you think of Bella and Will's news? When is Lewis going to ask Cleo?


	3. The Wedding

**The Wedding - Chapter 3 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

 **I had to make it simple and to the point as I didn't want Rikki to hurt me...**

* * *

The second day of September came and it was a sunny, clear, spring day in the Gold Coast. On the headland at John Laws Park the wedding party had formed. Zane and his best man Nate were standing at the end of the walkway that had been laid down over the grass. Next to them was an archway covered in white flowers; beneath the archway stood the pastor of the church that Zane's father attended.

There weren't many chairs setup on either side of the walkway; the local regulations only allowed for a total of twenty chairs. But that was more than enough for Rikki's wedding party. Rikki had asked Cleo to be her maid of honor, but both Emma and Bella were also bridesmaids and the three stood up opposite Zane and Nate.

Sitting in the seats were the rest of the invited guests: Lewis, Ash, and Will of course in the front row, keeping an eye on their girls. Cleo's father and stepmother Sam, along with her sister Kim and her boyfriend Eliot, were also in the audience. Zane's father was sitting in the front row on Zane's side, next to Miriam, who despite having acted snobby towards the girls had recently mellowed out and was now dating Nate.

At the back of the walkway Rikki stood looking radiant in a simple white dress and a white circlet of flowers in her hair, her arm linked with her Dad Terry's arm, waiting to step forward. One of Nate's friends, who also played the keyboards, started playing the wedding march and with a smile at each other Rikki and her Dad started the slow walk up the aisle.

The ceremony was brief and to the point. After Terry handed Rikki off to Zane, with a slight narrowing of his eyes in warning before cracking a smile, the couple pledged their love to each other, then exchanged rings handmade by the mermaids and Will out of coral and moonpool stone fragments. The pastor pronounced them man and wife and the two kissed, passionately and long enough that Terry coughed a quick warning, but with a twinkle in his eye.

The reception at the café was a very low-key affair, just what Rikki wanted. Zane's father Harrison had wanted to hold it at the yacht club, but Zane had set his father straight, knowing that Rikki would kill him if he allowed his Dad to do that. Instead it was a small, catered affair, with dancing and live music played by Nate, Bella, and the band.

After the party wound down Rikki and Zane prepared to leave. Rikki threw her bouquet out and Cleo caught it, causing her to turn bright red when Rikki nodded her head at Lewis. Officially Rikki and Zane set off on his bike, much to the amusement of the guests, who watched as they sped out of sight around the corner.

Wilfred, who had taken over as manager of the café, shooed everyone out, saying he needed no help cleaning up. The remaining mermaids and their guys went and sat on the edge of deck, at a couple of tables, and waited while everyone else left. Once Wilfred locked up and waved goodbye to the group, Cleo made a quick call and a couple of minutes later Rikki and Zane came back up.

"Ready for the real going away?" Rikki asked Zane as their friends gathered around them in a circle.

"Just let me get this tux off," Zane replied, unzipping his pants revealing his swimsuit on underneath. "Lewis, did you…"

"I put a change of clothing in the cavern," Lewis said. "Don't worry, everything is ready. Your boat is moored by the rocks, fully gassed, I might add. Suitcases in the boat, tickets with your stuff in the cavern."

"Thanks, Lewis," Rikki told him and gave him a kiss.

"Have fun, you guys," Cleo said, a tear running down her face.

"Take care; don't worry about anything!" Emma told them.

"Post a picture or two on Facebook, when you get a chance," Bella said with a wink.

Rikki and Zane smiled at them and at the guys, then turned to each other.

"Ready, Mrs. Bennett?" Zane asked.

"Ready, Mr. Bennett," Rikki replied. "But if you call me Mrs. Bennett one more time I will hurt you!"

The others laughed and waved as Rikki, still wearing her wedding dress, and Zane, wearing his swimsuit, ran down to the water and dove in. Ten seconds later the water around Rikki bubbled and she surfaced, now wearing her golden seaweed top. The two waved and then Rikki took Zane's hand and the two set off at a moderate speed, for a mermaid that is, towards Mako and the Moon Pool.

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 4, Hawai'in Honeymoon_


	4. Hawai'in Honeymoon

**Hawai'in Honeymoon - Chapter 4 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

* * *

Rikki stretched out in the sun and wiggled her toes in the sand. The weather was over 20 degrees, or as the Yanks said, about 70, and there was a light breeze, coming in off the ocean. Rikki sighed happily; she was completely relaxed and carefree.

Rikki and Zane were staying in the town of Hana, on the wetter, east coast of the Island of Maui. They had driven in the day prior from Lahaina, where they had been staying for the previous three days. Before that they had played tourists on Oahu, visiting the sights. For these last couple of days they were just going to relax, lie on the beach, and take it easy, before flying to San Francisco for the second half of their trip.

Today they were at the Oheo Gulch, or as the tourists called it, the Seven Sacred Pools. It was very picturesque, but the many pools and waterfalls there made Rikki wish she could go swimming.

"Hey there, beautiful," Zane said, sitting down besides her on the sand.

He proffered her a dried off bottle of water, which she carefully took so as not to get wet.

Rikki gave Zane a kiss in by way of thanks and after taking a sip of water she placed the bottle on the sand and rolled over on top of him and rested her head on his chest.

"So, ready to go back to the hotel?" Zane asked. "It's starting to get too crowded."

"Oh, but it's so nice here!" Rikki protested. "Although I haven't been able to swim."

"You know, I remember reading about a place, not far from the hotel," Zane said thoughtfully. "Maybe that would work for you."

"What is it?" Rikki asked.

"It's a red sand beach," Zane explained. "The remains of an old volcano, I guess. Surrounded by red cliffs. To get to it you have to hike this really rugged trail. But it's supposed to be really secluded."

"Sounds pretty," Rikki said. "How dangerous is the hike?"

"The guidebook said that if you take your time you shouldn't have any problem," Zane explained. "Besides, you might be able to go swimming there…"

"I would love to go swimming," Rikki said, rolling off of him. "Okay, let's go."

"I'll get the stuff," Zane said and pulled Rikki to her feet.

Once they had gathered up their stuff they headed for the trail that led to the parking lot, where their rental convertible was parked. Zane wasn't sure they should have rented the convertible, especially on the drive to Hana and back. It was a wet drive, with lots of waterfalls and places where spray from the ocean ended up on the road. But Rikki said she didn't care, that she was willing to risk it. Once on the drive in they had passed through a spray of water, getting both of them wet. Ten seconds later Rikki changed into her mermaid form, but still belted into the seat. Someone looking might have seen her top change into the golden seaweed top she wore in her mermaid form, but Rikki was quick with her heat power and steamed off the water in less than a minute, changing back to her human form.

But this day neither one of them was worried at all as there weren't any clouds visible in the sky. After stowing their beach gear in the trunk they sped off towards the loop road and headed back towards the town.

After passing the old general store Zane slowed, watching for the right place to turn. There was a road on the right and Zane turned the rental into it.

"I think this is it," Zane said. "I think you go down this way to the end of the road and then hike through the buildings to the coast."

They passed the town ball field and then turned again. Suddenly the road ended in what looked like a hotel parking lot. Next to the lot there was a large grass field and next to the field was some type of public complex. Zane turned the car around and parked it on the street, right next to the grass field, near where a yellow metal gate prevented people from driving onto the field.

After shutting off the car Zane and Rikki got out of it and walked over to the gate. On the far side of the field, through gaps in the trees, they could catch glimpses of the ocean.

"It sure is green!" Rikki exclaimed, looking around.

"I bet they photograph lots of weddings here," Zane said, pointing at a car parked right in front to the gate.

On the hood of the car was a pile of leaflets, held in place by a small rock. Rikki picked up one of leaflets and looked at it. The leaflet was an advertisement for 'Golden Gate Photography' and consisted of a list of services and a phone number. The address was for San Francisco, California.

"Look; this guy's from San Francisco," Rikki said, crumpling up the leaflet and tossing it in a nearby trashcan. "If I wanted a photographer I'd get a local one."

On the far side of the field they could make out a faint trail, leading through the trees towards the ocean.

"Want to try that trail?" Zane asked. "There's not too many cars parked here; maybe no one is at the beach and you can swim without getting caught."

"I'm not optimistic, but yes, let's go look," Rikki said. "We're here, we might as well."

Zane got their beach bag out of the car and then led the way across the field to where the trail ran down to the ocean, through the trees. Above them on the hill they could see what looked like the remains of an old cemetery. As they started down towards the ocean they encountered a man with a large camera slung around his neck, walking up towards the field and the cars. As they passed, the man nodded at them and continued on.

"I wonder if that was the photographer," Rikki said.

"Did you see that camera?" Zane told her. "Thousands of dollars worth of gear, it looked like."

At the ocean the trail turned and headed up the coast. Off in the distance they could see lava cliffs and in front of the cliffs a small stretch of beach.

"I think that's the beach over there," Zane said. "It doesn't look like anyone else is there."

"Well, lead on, husband of mine," Rikki said. "Man, that sounds so weird!"

"But I love it!" Zane exclaimed, gave Rikki and kiss, and then started up the trail.

* * *

The trail continued to parallel the coast, climbing up over a ridge before heading back down towards the beach. The trail was composed of loose cinders covered by pine needles and was very slippery. There were several spots where they had to be very careful otherwise they might have fallen and gotten severely hurt on the rocks. But they took their time and finally stepped out onto the beach. Like the trail the beach was composed of mostly red cinder rock, ground down to sand.

Rikki looked around; there was a rocky barrier that separated the ocean from a small pool. Near the pool was a large section of sandy, red beach.

"Let's put our stuff over there!" Rikki said to Zane, pointing at the sand near where rocks had formed a sheltered pool. "There might be some cover behind those rocks if someone were to come."

"It's sure nice here," Zane said as he put their stuff down. "Kind of open, though; are you going to take a chance here?"

"It looks too good to pass up," Rikki replied. "If someone comes I'll duck through those rocks into the ocean."

"Well, go ahead then; I'll join you in a moment," Zane said. "Just going to look around."

While Zane went to check out the far end of the beach Rikki walked to the edge of the pool. The water in the pool was pretty calm compared to the surf on the other side of the rocky barrier. Rikki could even see what appeared to be red sand under the surface of the water.

After taking one more look around, and getting a nod from Zane, who had walked up to the very end of the beach, Rikki stepped out into the pool. She stood there, at the edge of the pool for about ten seconds, until the magic happened and a ripple went through her. Rikki was ready for her tail to appear and flopped forward with a splash.

It wasn't very deep, not like the ocean back home, but deep enough to give her tail some exercise. There wasn't enough room to really speed up so she had to content herself to do slow circles, but it was enough! Up until then the only chance she had had to grow her tail was in their room, either in the tub or under the outside shower.

Rikki swam to the side of the pool and pulled her upper body out onto the sand. As she did so a bright spot of sunlight hit her in the eyes, coming not from the sky but from the direction of the trail. Looking in that direction she could see something bright reflecting the sun down onto her.

"Zane!" Rikki shouted. "I think someone's there on the trail!"

Zane was just coming back to where Rikki was resting on the sand.

"I see him," Zane said back to her. "He's got a camera."

There was a flash from the trail then both Zane and Rikki could see the owner of the camera as he turned to leave. It was the man they had passed earlier on the trail; he must have followed them back to the beach, hoping to catch them doing something that would be picture-worthy.

"Oh crap, Zane, he's probably got pictures of me with my tail!" Rikki exclaimed, as she pulled herself all the way out of the water onto the sand.

Zane started after the man, but stopped and looked back to see how she was doing.

"Don't wait; go after him," Rikki called out as she started to steam herself dry with her powers.

Zane took off after the man and Rikki cursed under her breath as the humid air made drying herself off take longer than normal. Finally she rippled and took on her human form again. She quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed their bag, then took off after Zane and the photographer, heading back towards the cars.

Rikki had to slow down and step carefully on the sandy trail to avoid plunging into the rocky surf, but made it to where the trail turned away from the ocean. As she burst from the trees onto the field she could see Zane standing there by the gate, looking up the road.

"Where is he?" Rikki asked breathlessly as she joined Zane at the gate.

"When I got to the field I saw a car speed off," Zane told her. "Come on, maybe we can still catch him."

"Wait, was it the car with the leaflets on it?" Rikki asked. "That's gone now!"

"I think so," Zane said.

Rikki went and looked in the trashcan and reached in and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

"Look; not only is there an address but also a phone number and a website," Rikki said. "That'll help us find him."

They jumped into the rental car and quickly sped away from the gate, towards the general store and then towards the center of town, but they didn't see the car anywhere. After driving around for several minutes and not seeing the guy they decided to go back to their hotel and use their hot spot to check the internet.

"Look, here's a picture of the photographer," Rikki said once they had found the website. "John Sanderson. That's him, isn't it?"

In the corner of the website was a picture; it was of the man they had seen on the trail.

"So what should we do now?" Rikki asked.

"Give them a call," Zane said, handing Rikki his phone and reading off the phone number from the website.

Rikki dialed the number and waited as it rang. After three rings there was a click and then a female voice answered.

"Golden Gate Photography, Mimi speaking."

"Uh, hi, Mimi," Rikki said. "Is Mr. Sanderson available?"

"I'm sorry, he's still out of town on business," Mimi told her. "But he's due back in the office the day after tomorrow."

"Oh, that's great, I'll call him then," Rikki said. "Uh, where's he off to?"

"Hawaii," Mimi replied. "Another wedding."

"Sounds like fun," Rikki said. "Well, thanks."

"Did you want to leave a message for John?" Mimi asked.

"That's okay, I'll explain when I talk with him," Rikki said. "Thanks."

Rikki disconnected the call.

"That was him for sure," Rikki explained. "He'll be back in San Francisco in a couple of days."

"Well, we're going to Northern California anyway for the next part of our honeymoon," Zane said. "We'll go pay a visit to Mr. Sanderson and get those photos."

"What if we can't?" Rikki asked.

"Tell you what; let's call Cleo and Emma," Zane said. "They'll know what to do."

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 5, Calls For Help..._

So what should they do? Any thoughts? Please let me know...


	5. Calls For Help

**Calls For Help** **\- Chapter 5 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

 **Who you gonna call when there's trouble? Mermaids, of course...**

* * *

"Hey, Rikki, done with your honeymoon already?" Cleo asked after picking up the phone.

"Hey, Cleo, no we're not done," Rikki told her. "We need your help."

"You need our help, with your honeymoon?" Cleo asked with a snicker. "Oh, Rikki, you're too old for the talk."

"This is serious, Cleo," Rikki said. "Some guy photographed me with my tail."

"Who'll believe him?" Cleo asked. "You know how many people take photos of mermaids, pixies, and Bigfoot?"

"He's a professional photographer, Cleo," Rikki explained. "Here taking photos of someone's wedding. He'll have known how to take a good picture."

"Why was he following you around?" Cleo asked.

"We just ran into him," Rikki said. "I think he was out looking for couples being naughty."

"Well, he got more than he expected, didn't he?" Cleo asked.

"Yes he did," Rikki replied.

"Let me talk with Emma," Cleo said. "She'll know what to do."

"Thanks, Cleo," Rikki said.

"So how's married life?" Cleo asked.

"Unbelievable," Rikki replied. "Speaking of getting married, when are you and Lewis getting engaged?"

"Um, well, I don't know how to say this Rikki, but…" Cleo stammered over the phone.

"Cleo, what did you do?" Rikki asked.

"We, uh, eloped," Cleo confessed. "Two days after your wedding."

"What!?" Rikki exclaimed. "You didn't!"

"Yeah, sorry," Cleo said. "Dad was giving us crap and we decided not to argue with him anymore."

Rikki chuckled; she could just see Mr. Sertori's face on hearing that his daughter had eloped with Lewis. And then another thought went through her head.

"You know what that means, don't you?" Rikki asked.

"What?" Cleo asked back.

"That Emma and Ash are going to be the last to get married, even though they were the first to get engaged."

"Yes it does," Cleo said. "You're not mad, then?"

"No way, I'm glad for you two," Rikki said. "We'll have to have a big wedding party for you and Bella, when we get home."

"Thanks, Rikki," Cleo said with a sigh of relief. "We thought you'd be furious."

"I'm not, but Emma and Bella will be if you guys don't tell them!" Rikki said.

"Okay, we'll tell them," Cleo said. "So, where are you and Zane going next?"

"Northern California, as planned," Rikki replied. "We'll be able to work there on getting those photos back. Hey, I bet the Yanks could help us; I'll call them."

"You do that, and I'll call you back in a little while," Cleo told her. "I'm going to have a mermaid conference here."

"Okay, talk to you soon!" Rikki said and Cleo hung up the phone.

* * *

"Hello, is that you, Rikki?" Rowan said after she answered the phone. "Where are you?"

"Hi, Rowan," Rikki told her. "We're still in Hawaii."

"What; tired of Zane already?" Rowan asked with a chuckle. "I didn't expect to hear from you for another week!"

"We've got a bit of a hassle," Rikki said and explained about the photographer.

"So we're thinking about heading your way early," Rikki said. "Is the offer to stay at your place still valid?"

"Of course it is," Rowan replied. "And don't even think about staying anywhere else!"

"Oh, we wouldn't," Rikki told her. "Besides, we spent most of our budget here in Hawaii."

"So when would you arrive?" Rowan asked.

"Well, the photographer should be back in two days so would it be all right if we came tomorrow?" Rikki asked. "Of course that depends on which flights are available."

"Tomorrow would be great; I could meet you at the airport," Rowan said. "Just let me know when and what airline and I'll be there!"

* * *

After thanking Rowan Rikki hung up and walked out to the pool area to wait for Cleo to call her back. Rikki eyed the water longingly, but it was a shared pool for all of the guests and she was already in enough trouble as it was. Luckily she didn't have long to wait for just a couple of minutes later her cell phone chimed. But it wasn't Cleo; the caller-id and ring indicated that it was Emma.

"Hi, Emma, what's up?" Rikki asked after connecting the call.

"I just wanted to tell you that we'll see you and Zane in San Rafael in a few days," Emma told her.

"What?" Rikki asked. "Why?"

"To help you out, silly!" Emma exclaimed. "We all talked and we're going to do this together. Besides, Rowan says they have plenty of room and it will be fun to get away."

"So all of you?" Rikki asked.

"Yes, Cleo and Lewis, me and Ash, and Bella and Will," Emma said. "We're all coming and will get this taken care of. Besides, Ash and I have an idea."

"What's that?" Rikki asked.

"I'll tell you when we see you," Emma instructed. "Trust me, you'll like it!"

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 6, Tails of Two Cities_


	6. Tails of Two Cities

**Tails of Two Cities** **\- Chapter 6 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

* * *

The flight from Honolulu to San Francisco took half the time it had taken them to fly there from home. Rikki didn't get any sleep; preferring instead to keep an eye out for wary bottles of water or other things that would cause her to grow a tail.

After arriving at the gate they collected their two carryon bags and quickly found themselves in the terminal. Surprised at the lack of controls Zane remembered that they had gone through Customs and Passport control in Hawaii, when they had first arrived.

"I forgot that Hawaii is part of the United States," Zane confessed after Rikki gave him a funny look.

The two newlyweds headed for baggage claim and left the secure terminal area, finding Rowan and Paul waiting for them as they entered the baggage hall.

"Rikki, Zane, over here!" Rowan exclaimed on seeing them, and then she was hurrying forward to greet them.

The two barely had enough time to put their bags down before Rowan had thrown her arms around them, giving them both a big hug.

"Easy there, Rowan," Paul said, coming up to them with a big grin on his face. "You'll crush our newlyweds!"

"Oops; sorry!" Rowan exclaimed. "I'm just so happy for you guys and am so happy to see you again!"

"Here, let me take your bag," Paul said to Rikki. "Why don't you guys follow us and we'll get your bags and get going; we want to beat the rush hour traffic over the bridge."

"Which bridge is that?" Zane asked.

"The Golden Gate," Paul explained. "We could take the Bay Bridge and then the Richmond…"

"Paul, enough!" Rowan exclaimed with a smirk. "Let's just go; they don't need to hear you flight plan!"

As they four headed for the baggage carousel Paul apologized.

"A stint flying in the US Air Force," Paul explained. "I'm always calculating routes in my head."

"I think someone could learn a thing or two from you," Rikki said as they grabbed their bags.

"Hey!" Zane protested causing Rikki to laugh.

"You guys take these out to the curb and I'll go get the car," Paul said and headed off for the lot.

Rowan led Rikki and Zane out to the curb with their bags. It was a sunny afternoon and the sun was low on the coastal range to the west of the airport. After just a minute Paul pulled up in his car: a BMW 7-series sedan.

"Nice car!" Zane exclaimed.

"The firm is doing well," Paul explained. "You'll meet my boss later, at the house."

"What about Jackie and Tanya?" Rikki asked. "Are they around?"

"Tanya and Stephen live up in Novato," Rowan explained as they loaded the bags into the spacious trunk. "They'll be down tomorrow night for a welcome party."

"Sadly Jackie and Seth live down in Los Angeles and I'm not sure if they'll make it up," Paul said. "We'll have to wait and see."

"Okay, guys, hop in the back and let's get going," Rowan said once the last bag was stowed.

After leaving the airport Paul headed west, angling across the peninsula to Highway One. Rikki and Zane watched as they passed through the Zoo district then up to Golden Gate Park, where the highway curved before entering another stretch of San Franciscan houses.

"Some of these hills are pretty steep," Zane exclaimed, looking to the side.

"You should try driving a stick here,' Paul said. "If you can do that, you can drive anywhere!"

"I can believe it!" Rikki exclaimed.

Paul drove through the Presidio before joining up with highway 101, leading to the Golden Gate Bridge. As they passed the old tollbooths Rikki stared up at the huge towers and the giant cables that the bridge was suspended on.

"Wow, this is pretty cool!" she exclaimed as they passed the halfway point across.

Paul smiled and at the Marin County end of the bridge he exited, pulling into the overlook area so that Zane and Rikki could get a look.

"Nice," Rikki said as they stood at the railing, looking out over the bay. "How cold is that water?"

"It's very cold," Rowan replied. "Too cold for the guys. But swimmable as a mermaid."

"We need to make another trip to your place," Paul said. "So we can go swimming with you."

"Anytime!" Rikki said.

* * *

After climbing back in the car Paul drove the short distance north to San Rafael, and then into the hills on the East side of the peninsula where he and Rowan had their house. The house was at the end of a cul-de-sac, slightly raised up from the level of the road. The roof rose quite high, with large plate-glass windows on the upper story. To the side of the house a three-car garage was attached, and from either side of the house a tall stone wall ran to either side of the property, completely hiding the back garden from view by the street.

"Wow, nice house!" Zane exclaimed as Paul pulled the BMW into the driveway and up in front of the middle garage door.

After pressing a button on the dash to open the garage door Paul motioned for Rikki and Zane to get out. Rowan grabbed one of the suitcases, and Paul the other, leaving the carry-ons for Rikki and Zane to carry.

Paul then led the way in through the garage and up a short set of stairs through a door and into the house. Once inside Zane and Rikki stopped and stared in amazement at the view out the back. Like the upper story there were large plate glass windows on the rear of the house, but looking out over the back garden across the Bay in the distance.

"Look at that view!" Rikki exclaimed as they put their bags down.

"Look at that pool!" Zane said.

Directly behind the house there was a man-made hill from which an artificial waterfall spilled over in a flat curtain, into the swimming pool that surrounded the hill on three sides. From their vantage point it looked like a part of the pool extended into the hill, through the waterfall.

"Is that a cave?" Rikki asked.

"We call it the Grotto," Rowan replied, obviously proud of the design. "Inside there's a perfect place to dry off after stretching your tails."

"Mmm, a swim would be nice," Rikki said wistfully.

"And the yard is private; our neighbors keep to themselves and there's no one behind us so you can swim all you want without worrying," Paul explained.

"Let's get your stuff into the guest room and you can take that swim," Rowan said, indicating they would be climbing up the main central staircase.

After showing the two newlyweds their room, which was just down the hall from the master and attached to its own private bathroom, Rowan and Paul left Rikki and Zane to relax and take their time. But Rikki was in no mood to relax; she really wanted that swim so they quickly changed into their suits and headed back down the stairs.

Halfway down Rikki and Zane could see that an unknown couple was sitting in the back yard, to one side of the pool, near a built-in hot tub that was gently bubbling.

"Who are they?" Zane asked, pointing to the couple as they met Rowan and Paul in the great room.

"Melanie and Jake," Paul replied. "They're joining us for dinner."

"Melanie's my best friend; we grew up together in Southern California," Rowan explained. "And Jake is Paul's boss; he's the guy who paid for our trip to the Gold Coast."

"Do they know about your tail?" Rikki asked.

"Oh, that they do," Rowan said with a smile. "Come on, let's go meet them."

The large patio doors opened up onto a deck on the back of the house where a table had been set up for dinner for six. At the back of the deck a wide set of steps went down to the pool. As Rowan led the way to the steps and down the couple stood up and turned to greet them.

"Hi, you must be Rikki and Zane," the woman said as they arrived next to them. "I'm Melanie and am so glad to meet you."

Melanie was a little shorter than Rowan, with jet-black hair and a bright red swimsuit partially covered by a sarong. But what immediately caught Rikki's eye was the necklace that Melanie was wearing; it was a blue moonstone set in a pendant much like she herself was wearing. A brief tingle in her own stone let her know that a mermaid was close; Rikki wondered if Melanie was also a mermaid.

"If you're wondering whether I grow a tail when wet, the answer is yes," Melanie explained with a smile. "Not long after Rowan and Tanya got back from your part of the world."

"How did that happen?" Rikki asked.

"Melanie is my best friend; I had to tell her," Rowan explained. "We took her to the Muir pool here on the night of the next full moon and gave her a choice."

"Which I gladly took," Melanie said.

"Wow, always happy to meet other mermaids," Rikki said, holding out her hand.

But Melanie surprised her by giving her a big hug instead.

"Thanks for helping out my friends there," Melanie said.

"Ahem," coughed the guy with Melanie.

"Oh, sorry Jake," Melanie said, giving him a quick kiss. "This is my husband Jake."

"Glad to meet you two," Jake said shaking Zane's hand. "Welcome to California."

But before Jake could say anything else Melanie had grabbed Rikki's hand and was pulling her towards the pool.

"Come on, I bet you're dying for a swim," Melanie said.

"Go on, have fun!" Zane told her, grinning at Melanie's enthusiasm.

Smiling, Rikki let Melanie take her around the pool to where a path ended at an open doorway into the hill. Inside she found a bar and a sloping, sandy beach that went down into an inlet of the pool.

"After you," Melanie told her.

Rikki wasted no time and ran down into the water, finding it to be almost the perfect temperature for a mermaid: cooler than a swimming pool but not as cold as the open ocean. Melanie followed her down and about ten seconds after getting wet both women shifted in mermaid form and swam out, through the waterfall, into the main part of the pool.

There was plenty of room in the pool for a good swim and Rikki let herself go, darting around at top speed with Melanie in quick pursuit. There was a splash above her and for a moment a pair of legs was visible in the water. There was a ripple and another mermaid tail formed, and Rowan submerged and gave both Rikki and Melanie a smile before joining in their race.

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 7, The Gathering_


	7. The Gathering

**The Gathering** **\- Chapter 7 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

* * *

The next morning the rest of the group showed up, with Jake and Paul shuttling them in from the airport. There was another guest room on the upper floor and Cleo won the toss so she and Lewis got to stay in there. But there were several additional rooms in the basement near the underground passage that led to the back of the Grotto.

"An easier way for you to get to the pool," Rowan explained to Bella and Will, who were in one of the basement rooms, and to Emma and Ash who were in separate rooms but right next to each other.

While the others were taking a quick swim in the pool Lewis wandered around the back garden, stopping at the windblown pine that was right on the edge of the drop-off, down to the bay below.

"That is an incredible view," he told Paul, who strolled up to see how he was doing.

From their vantage point they could see the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge going over to the Oakland side of the bay. There were a few boats out on the water, including several cargo ships and one large cruise ship. Far to the south they could see the Bay Bridge, connecting Oakland with the San Franciscan peninsula.

"We're lucky there's no fog today," Paul explained. "Sometimes you can't even see down to the water."

After the mermaids had had enough time to stretch their tails Rowan explained that she had called the photographer's shop and that he was arriving later that afternoon. So if they wanted there was time for them to go see the Muir Beach moon pool before trying to get the photos back.

"So what's this big idea of yours?" Rikki asked.

"Let's go visit their moon pool and then I'll tell you all," Emma said with a big smile.

* * *

On the other side of the Marin peninsula, just north of Muir Beach, a rocky ridge drove right into the ocean. One of their Yank friends, Jackie, had been exploring the ridge about a year ago on the night of a full moon and had discovered a hidden crack that led into a small cave, where a sea pool had formed. But like the Mako moon pool it was open to the sky, and on the night of the full moon light would shine directly down onto the water of the pool. Jackie had been in the water when the light shone down, and had been changed into a mermaid just like Rikki and her friends had.

Jackie and her husband Seth now lived in Los Angeles, but came north often, to visit and to swim with the other mermaids there.

"Jackie and Seth are coming up this weekend so we'll see them then," Rowan told Rikki as they drove west on the highway, around Mount Tamalpais, towards the beach.

"What about Tanya and Stephen?" Emma asked.

Ash and Zane were also riding with Rowan. Melanie was driving the other car and was pointing out the sights to Cleo, Lewis, Bella, and Will as they followed Rowan's car.

"They'll join us tonight, to hear what Emma's big plan is," Rowan said.

As they arrived at the Muir Beach area Rowan pointed out the guesthouse that Jackie and Seth usually rented.

"It has easy access to the beach and there are a lot of rocks there, making it easier to stay hidden when we have tails," she explained. "Normally we'd jump in there and swim into the pool through the ocean tunnel, but today we'll walk in."

Rowan pulled the car into the beach parking lot and found a parking spot. It was early afternoon and the beach was crowded, with families from the City as well as locals.

"There're a lot of people here," Emma stated as they climbed from the car. "Aren't you worried that someone else might find the pool?"

"The entrance is pretty hidden, but yes, I worry about that all the time," Rowan replied. "But I don't think most people like going near where the entrance is; the place gives off a feeling of…"

"Magic," Rikki interjected. "Kind of a creepy feeling if you don't know what it is."

"Exactly," Rowan agreed.

Once Melanie and the other four had joined them Rowan led the way across the beach, towards the rocky ridge to the north.

"So this is where you became a mermaid?" Will asked Melanie as they walked across the sand.

"And you were given the choice," Lewis said. "I think that's great. With Cleo and the others it was an accident."

"My best friends said they had never been happier so yes, I chose to become one," Melanie explained. "And they were right!"

After leaving the beach Rowan led them around some rocks and through some tall brush, right to a large bush that was right against the rocky side of the ridge. As Rowan pushed the bush aside the others realized had been woven onto a frame to make it easy to move and blocked access to a narrow crack that led into the ridge.

"That was smart," Rikki told Rowan. "We need to hide the entrance to our cavern back home."

"Yeah, or more Yanks might find it and you know what'll happen then," Melanie said with a giggle.

Inside they found a sandy passage that ran deep into the ridge. The path led to a rocky shelf that they climbed; on the far side worn steps led down into a cave with a familiar looking pool of water; complete with underwater shelf, the glow from an undersea passage, and above them a crack in the ceiling that admitted light into the cavern.

Rikki looked closer at the walls of the cavern and sure enough, faint pinpricks of blue could be seen, indicating the presence of moonstones. Under the surface of the water a large concentration of the blue stones could be seen, including one big cluster that was the size of a volleyball.

"You're the closest thing we have to an expert on mermaid magic, Lewis," Emma said, stooping to look at the cluster of stones. "What do you think of this?"

"Looks like it's giving off waves of something," Lewis said, looking closer at the stones. "The water is rippling slightly around it."

"Are they hot?" Bella asked.

"I can't tell," Lewis replied.

"Is the water warm around the stones?" Rikki asked.

"I don't know," he replied then turned and looked around the cavern. "Look, there are other clusters in the walls.

Leaving the pool Lewis went to examine a particularly bright cluster of stones. After waving his hand in front of the stones he turned back to the others.

"Doesn't feel hot to me at all," Lewis exclaimed. "Just gives me a little tingling sensation."

The others turned back to the pool.

"I take it that passage leads out into the ocean," Cleo said. "Like the Mako pool."

"Yes, but it is longer and twistier," Rowan replied. "But still easily passable."

"Well then, let's go for a swim!" Rikki exclaimed. "Last one in's a sea slug!"

She quickly dove into the pool, catching the others off guard, but not for long as Rowan dove in a fraction of a second later. The others quickly followed with a big splash, causing the guys to jump back to avoid getting doused by the cold, ocean water.

"So do we wait for them here?" Zane asked.

"Nah, let's go back out to the beach and wait for them there," Will told him. "I'm ready to do some swimming myself."

"You guys go ahead; I want to look at these stones a little more," Lewis told the others as they headed up the steps.

"Always the researcher, aren't you Lewis?" Zane asked, teasing Lewis in a friendly manner. "Don't get yourself zapped or shocked, or changed somehow!"

"Don't worry; I won't let that happen," Lewis said with a grin.

After the others left up the stairs Lewis waved his hand again at the cluster on the wall, watching how the stones got brighter as he did so.

"Amazing!" he said, and then turned to follow the other guys back out onto the beach.

* * *

After replacing the bush in front of the crack Lewis walked back and found Zane sitting on the beach by himself.

"Where are the others?" Lewis asked, sitting down next to Zane on the sand.

"Will and Ash are right over there," Zane said, pointing towards the middle of the beach where a series of rocks extended out into the ocean, forming several tidal pools. Will and Ash were examining one of the pools; it looked like they had discovered some type of animal or a shell of one.

"Going swimming, Lewis?" Zane asked. "The water's cold but not too bad."

"Maybe later," Lewis told him. "So, how're you two doing?"

"Oh, being married to Rikki is great," Zane said with a grin. "I'm trying not to make too many mistakes around her 'cause I don't want her to hurt me."

Lewis laughed.

"She can be a little intimidating at times," he said with a grin.

"No, she's great," Zane said, thinking about the last week since they had gotten married. "We should have gotten married a long time ago."

"She was mad at you, remember?" Lewis jibed him playfully.

"There was that," Zane said. "But the last week has been great, at least until that photographer caught us on that beach on Maui.

"So what really happened?" Lewis asked.

Zane recounted the story again, from his point of view, up to the point when Rikki had joined him at the trashcan where the photographer had parked.

"And the picture on the flyer matched the guy we saw, so that's how we know it's him," Zane concluded.

"Well, Emma says she has a plan that will help get the photos back," Lewis said.

"I hope so," Zane told him and stared off at the ocean.

* * *

"There you are," Rikki said from behind them a few minutes later.

Zane turned and stood as Rikki ran into his arms and gave him a big kiss.

"Still newlyweds I see," Rowan said to them with a grin and then held up her hand to forestall any reply from Rikki. "No, no need to apologize. You still are on your honeymoon, afterall!"

"You guys ready to go back?" Cleo asked.

"Sure; I'm tired of sitting out on this hot sand," Lewis told her, and called out to the other guys. "Hey Will! Ash! Let's go, the girls are back!"

Will and Ash left the tidal pools and hurried back up the beach to them.

"How was your swim?" Ash asked Emma after giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Nice," Emma replied. "The water's colder than back home, and murkier, but we could still see pretty well."

"I want to go to Mako," Melanie said, pouting. "It sounds wonderful!"

"We will, we will," Rowan told her friend with a smile. "Okay, let's get back. Tanya and Stephen should be there, as well as Paul and Jake."

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 8, The Plan_

Comments, questions, reviews? Only a few already done chapters left; the rest is still being written.


	8. The Plan

**The Plan** **\- Chapter 8 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

Finally, Emma reveals her plan and it is set in motion...

* * *

"So before I call the photographer again, tell us what this plan of yours is," Rowan said to Emma once they were all relaxing in the back by the pool.

Tanya and her boyfriend Stephen had driven in from Novato, joining them. In fact the only mermaid missing was Jackie; she and her husband Seth were still down in Los Angeles but promised to be up before everyone left for home.

Paul had set out drinks and plenty of towels to help prevent unplanned for flops.

"So we need to find out more about this photographer, like where he keeps his prints and negatives," Emma said. "And then once we know where the photos are, we need to distract him so that we can get them. Right?"

"So far so good, Emma," Rikki said. "How are we going to do that?"

"How about we hire him for a photo shoot; one that would give us a reason to ask him questions and then once he's at the shoot someone can go get the photos."

"Okay, makes sense, but what could we hire him to shoot?" Cleo asked, looking around at the group.

Emma smiled as the others all tried to think of an event.

"They haven't come up with anything yet," she said to Ash after a few moments.

"Tell them," Ash said with a big smile.

"Tell us what?" Bella asked.

"How about we hire him to photograph a wedding," Emma finally said with a big grin.

"Ah!" Rowan exclaimed.

"Who's wedding? Yours?" Rikki asked excitedly. "For real? Where?"

"Yes, for real. And here, of course," Emma explained. "Somewhere nearby so he won't feel like he needs to lock everything up while he's gone."

"Emma!" Cleo exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so excited for you; that is a great idea."

"When?" Tanya asked. "How long do you want to wait?"

"I figure we need to do it soon, before he sells or releases the photo to someone else," Ash explained. "So maybe in a couple of weeks?"

"Wow, that's really soon," Rikki said. "Do you think we can get everything ready?"

"I'm more worried about how your parents are going to take this!" Cleo said. "What are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know, oh, maybe that if they don't support us then we'll elope like you and Lewis did," Emma replied.

"That'll get them here," Rikki said.

"Now we just got to figure out the where…" Emma said.

"I know just the place," Rowan told them.

* * *

Emma's parents were dead set against Emma and Ash getting married in Northern California.

"What about all my friends?" Emma's mom complained. "What about your friends? What about the big church wedding we always talked about!"

"All my friends are here," Emma explained. "The only ones missing are you, Dad, and Elliot. And you're the one who always wanted that big church wedding."

In the end Emma did threaten to elope, like Cleo and Lewis, and that quickly ended the argument. They set a tentative date for the wedding for a Saturday two weeks away. Tentative in case they couldn't get a place to have the wedding in.

"Why don't we ask Rowan and Paul if we can have the wedding here?" Ash finally asked. "You have to admit it would be a great place to have a wedding."

But Rowan presented the two with another idea.

"What about this place?" Rowan asked, showing them a picture of an ornate dome supported by classical columns, surrounded by a small lake with fountains.

It was absolutely gorgeous.

"Where is that?" Emma asked. "It's stunning!"

"That is the Palace of Fine Arts, in San Francisco," Rowan explained. "Wouldn't that be a great place for the wedding? And then we could have the reception here. Besides, the photographer likes shooting weddings there."

"Can we get it?" Emma asked. "And how expensive is it?"

"I've already checked; it is available that day," Rowan explained. "As to the cost, well, let's say that several Northern Californian mermaids got together and donated the reservation fee."

Emma called the photographer at his office, Sanderson Photography, and made an appointment to go in and discuss the wedding. Taking Rowan with her they drove into the City and found his office, not too far away from Golden Gate Park.

* * *

"Come in, Miss Gilbert," the photographer, Mr. Sanderson, told her a few minutes after they had checked in with his assistant. "And who is this?"

"Hi, I'm Rowan Jackson," Rowan said, introducing herself. "A friend of the bride. We'll be hosting the wedding party at our house."

"Wonderful," Mr. Sanderson said. "Welcome."

Emma and Rowan noticed that Mr. Sanderson was quite a bit older and heavier than his picture on the website made him to be. He was wearing a button up shirt with no tie, and brown suit pants. Emma's first impression was that he was slightly washed up, but the framed photographs on the walls of his office were vibrant and bright.

After entering Mr. Sanderson's office he waved at a couple of chairs and then went and sat down at his partially cluttered desk.

"So have you set a date for the wedding?" Mr. Sanderson.

"We were thinking the 26th," Emma said.

"The 26th of October?" Sanderson asked. "Let me check my calendar."

"Actually, the 26th of this month," Emma replied.

"That's only two weeks away!" Sanderson told her. "And I'm booked that night already."

"Oh, that's too bad," Emma replied. "Another wedding?"

"I'm actually throwing a release party for a special photo I took," Sanderson explained. "I can't tell you anything about it now, but I'm sure you'll read all about it in the news."

"Wow, sounds like quite the photo," Rowan said.

"Oh, it is," Sanderson said smugly.

"Our wedding is in the early afternoon and should be done by four," Emma explained. "Will that be a conflict? I hope not 'cause you come highly recommended and I'd hate to have to find someone else."

"Where is the wedding going to be at?" Sanderson asked.

"The Palace of Fine Arts," Rowan told him. "We understand you're familiar with it."

"Hmm," Sanderson said to himself, thinking. "What about the reception?"

"We'll only be having a small wedding party, and its not until the next day," Emma explained. "Nothing at all that evening."

"You know, as long as we'd be done by six I could make it work," Sanderson said. "I don't like to brag, but no one else can shoot a wedding at the Palace like I can."

"I've heard that," Rowan told him. "That's why we hope this will work."

"I think I can make it work," Sanderson said. "Why don't we take a look at some books and see what I can do for you."

"Great!" Emma exclaimed.

Mr. Sanderson then discussed what Emma wanted for her wedding and what he normally did when shooting at the Palace. After agreeing on a plan that worked for her Sanderson wrote out a bid for the work and slipped it across the desk.

Emma took a look at the bid and gulped; maybe an elopement would be better. But she knew that Rikki's and perhaps her own secret could be exposed if she didn't do it. Besides, both Rowan and Melanie had offered to help out. Smiling instead Emma nodded and signed the bid.

"Do you process the photos here at your office?" Rowan asked. "Or you do outsource to a lab?"

"No, we have a lab onsite and I do most of the processing myself," Sanderson explained. "These pictures are too valuable to outsource."

"You store everything securely, I hope," Emma said. "Wouldn't want our pictures to get stolen!"

"Don't you worry about that!" Sanderson told her. "Finished prints are stored in the lock room, and I have the only key. And the negatives and memory cards are stored in my safe."

"Secure enough for your own special prints, I hope," Rowan said.

"Of course," Sanderson said. "Don't worry about it at all."

"Wonderful," Emma said, wondering how they'd be able to get the negatives.

That was something they'd have to worry about later. But if they could get that key it looked like they could get into the lock room, and it sounded like that was where the print would be stored.

"Any other questions for me?" Mr. Sanderson asked.

"No, I think we're all set for now," Emma told him. "I'll call with more specifics once I have them."

"Great," Sanderson said, standing and coming around the desk with his hand out.

Emma took it and gave it a reasonable shake, feeling a little slimy after doing so. He then shook Rowan's hand as well and they left his office, nodding at the assistant as they left.

On the way back in the car Emma worried about whether they'd be able to pull it off.

"There's a lot of 'What Ifs?'," Emma said. "What happens if we can't get the photo?"

"If we can't get the print we'll have to sabotage the opening somehow," Rowan told her. "But we can do this; after all we are mermaids, right?"

"Right!" Emma exclaimed.

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 9, Wedding Preparations_

As usual, comments and thoughts are welcome!


	9. Wedding Preparations

**Wedding Preparations** **\- Chapter 9 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

Will Emma and Ash go through with the wedding, even though the girls' secret is at risk?

* * *

Two days before the wedding Emma's parents and brother arrived. But even though Melanie and Jake offered them a room at their house on the other side of the city the Gilbert's chose to stay down the road, in Sausalito.

Cleo spent what seemed like hours on the phone with her sister Kim, back home in the Gold Coast, trying to calm her down. Kim had been adamant that she accompany Elliot and his parents to California for the wedding, and neither Cleo's Dad nor their stepmom Sam had been able talk sense into her. After Don had forbidden her to go Kim had called to complain directly to Cleo. Finally Eliot had to get on the phone and tell her himself that she needed to wait for him to get back, ending the discussion.

* * *

The night before the wedding everyone gathered at Rowan and Paul's house for dinner. The Gilberts were introduced to all of Rowan's friends, and were able to greet all of Emma's friends from back home. Right after dessert everyone excused themselves even though it was still early, so that the bride and groom could get enough rest for the big day.

* * *

Emma noticed when the clock flipped over past midnight, indicating that the actual day for the wedding had finally arrived. Even though she and Ash had been engaged for longer than the rest Emma was still a little nervous. Unable to sleep, she tossed and turned on her bed until close to five in the morning. Giving up, Emma quietly tiptoed next door to Ash's room and found him wide-awake, sitting in his chair.

"Can't sleep?" Emma asked.

"Not a wink," Ash replied. "I want to marry you, Emma; I just can't believe the day is here!"

"Come on, let's go for a walk," Emma told him.

The two snuck out through the Grotto passage and walked to the overlook. The eastern sky was getting light and they could see all the way across the bay to Richmond and beyond. There had been some concern that the day would be foggy, but it looked like the marine layer had stayed away well to the west, leaving both the North Bay and the San Francisco peninsula clear and cloudless.

"So what do you want to do?" Emma asked Ash.

* * *

Emma had chosen Cleo to be her maid of honor due to having known her since they were just kids. When Cleo knocked on Emma's door to wake her up and help get her ready there was no answer. Finding the door unlocked she peeked in and found Emma's bed empty.

"Uh, oh, she's bolted," Cleo whispered to herself. "Should I tell Ash?"

Cleo decided to at least see how Ash was doing and knocked on his door. After not hearing any response and wondering whether Emma was inside she knocked harder. But as she did so the door swung open.

"Hello, Ash? Emma?" Cleo asked as she pushed her head through the door.

But the room was empty, and Ash's bed showed no sign that anyone had even slept in it.

"What's going on, Cleo?" Bella asked, yawning, from the doorway to her and Will's room down the hall. "Is it time to get up already?"

"Emma and Ash aren't here!" Cleo exclaimed.

"Oh no, did they elope after all?" Bella asked, instantly wide-awake.

"I hope not!" Cleo said. "Let's go tell Rowan!"

But as they started up the stairs they were met by a very amused-looking Rowan, who put a finger to her lips, shushing the two. Once Rowan was sure that Cleo and Bella would stay quiet she led them to the big window looking out into the back garden and pointed.

Cleo squinted into the bright morning sun and could see that Emma and Ash were sitting on the bench overlooking the bay. They weren't asleep as she could see Ash running his fingers through Emma's hair and as they watched Emma turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"See, nothing to worry about," Rowan said in a whisper. "We should let them enjoy the morning; it will be rushed soon enough."

* * *

After another half an hour or so Emma and Ash got off of the bench and seeing that people were up came in the back door.

"Morning you two," Rikki told them with a grin. "You had Cleo all worried."

"Huh?" Emma asked, confused.

"When she went to your room to wake you up you weren't there," Bella said with a smirk. "At first she thought you were in with Ash."

"Cleo!" Emma said, turning red.

"Well, you weren't in your room!" Cleo retorted. "And then neither of you were in Ash's room, so I thought, well…"

"What?" Ash asked.

"I thought you had decided to elope after all," Cleo said sheepishly.

"I admit that we did discuss it," Emma said, smiling at Ash. "But we couldn't let Rikki down."

"Besides, her mom would have killed her if we had," Ash said with a grin.

After apologizing for thinking that Emma and Ash had bolted Cleo grabbed Emma's hand.

"Okay, Ash, you need to get your stuff and stay upstairs!" Cleo told him. "As of this moment the basement is the bride's dressing room and you are not to go down there!"

Laughing Ash and Lewis, whom Ash had chosen to be his best man, went down to his room and got his wedding clothes and brought them up to the den, where Paul had indicated he could use as his own dressing room.

While Ash and Lewis were getting his things the Gilberts arrived at the door and Paul showed them in. Emma's mom burst into tears seeing Emma, although she was smiling.

"Mom!" Emma said, embarrassed.

"Shush, Emma!" Mrs. Gilbert said. "It's your wedding day and I'm allowed to cry."

"Your mom's been waiting for this for a long time now," Emma's dad told her. "I'll try to keep her from getting too emotional…"

"Neil!" Mrs. Gilbert exclaimed.

Emma's Dad winked at Emma and gave his daughter a kiss.

"It's true, Lisa," he told his wife.

"Ooh, you!" Emma's mom exclaimed, swatting Emma's dad with her purse, causing Emma to laugh.

"It's okay, Mom," Emma told her. "You can cry if you want."

"Thanks, Emma," Mrs. Gilbert told her, wiping a tear off of her cheek.

* * *

Once Ash and Lewis had come back out of the basement Emma, her mom, Cleo, and Rowan had gone down to Emma's room to help her get ready. The men and the rest of the women headed to their own rooms to get dressed and ready for the pre-wedding photo shoot. They were scheduled to meet Mr. Sanderson at the Palace at eleven, a couple of hours before the ceremony, for the staged photos. Due to the popularity of the Palace for weddings and that it was a public city park, they needed to be on time.

As Emma and her mom worked on Emma's hair, Cleo, Rikki, and Bella went upstairs to the guest room there to get ready. The women had already finished their baths early; Rowan had let them use their own big master bathroom as it had an oversized tub, perfect for stretching out one's tail. As Bella went back to put on her bridesmaid dress, Cleo took Rikki into the bathroom.

"I do not want to do this!" Rikki exclaimed, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Either this or stay away from Emma's wedding," Cleo told her. "If Sanderson recognizes you…"

"What color did you get for me?" Rikki asked, worried.

"Red," Cleo replied.

"No, no red hair dye!" Rikki exclaimed. "I remember what happened to Emma."

"This is different; it is only a temporary comb in," Cleo explained. "Just a quick rinse and I bet it's out of your hair before you can grow your tail."

Cleo finally talked Rikki into letting her proceed and after just a few minutes it was done. Since Sanderson had seen her only with her hair down, both before her transformation and after, Cleo then helped her put her hair up. The combination of different hair color and different hairstyle made Rikki look completely different.

"I think that will work," Cleo told her once everything was done.

"I sure hope so," Rikki replied.

* * *

After dressing in their pale blue bridesmaid dresses the three mermaids went downstairs and found everyone ready, except for Emma and her mom, who were fixing Emma's veil. Ash and Lewis were outfitted in black tuxedos and the rest of the wedding party was all dressed up in nice suits and dresses. While they waited for Emma to come up Mr. Gilbert helped Ash and Lewis with their boutonnieres.

The bridesmaids collected their bouquets, which consisted of white orchids and pale blue hydrangeas. Emma's bouquet was similar but larger, and Cleo made sure that it was in order.

* * *

When the time was right Emma came up the stairs in her beaded wedding dress and long train, her sheer white veil thrown back over her hair, which had been done up for the occasion. Ash's face broke into a silly grin when he saw her and he stood there speechless as she walked up to him.

"What do you think?" Emma asked him.

"Cool," he mumbled, still with a full grin.

"That's all you have to say?" Mrs. Gilbert asked.

"Yes, that's good enough for me," Emma said, giving his hand a squeeze. "You look very handsome."

"Oh, Emma, you look so wonderful!" Cleo gushed.

Mr. Gilbert beamed and kissed his daughter carefully on the cheek.

"You look lovely, Emma," he told her.

"Yeah, not bad, Emma," Elliot said.

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 10, Wedding Photography_

Time to put the plan in action. Will it work?


	10. Wedding Photography

**Wedding Photography - Chapter 10 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

* * *

After Emma collected her bouquet Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert led the way to the front of Rowan and Paul's house, where their rides awaited. The Gilberts had rented a couple of limousines for the wedding party: one for the bride and groom, Cleo, and Lewis, and another one for Rikki, Bella, and the parents. The Gilberts had been hoping that Ash's parents would show, but his parents were unable (or unwilling) to attend, Ash wasn't sure which.

Zane, Will, and Eliot were going to ride over with the Yanks. Zane was planning on staying in the background so Mr. Sanderson wouldn't see him. They were taking a chance with Rikki, but Emma had been adamant about her being one of the bridesmaids.

* * *

The drive to the Palace of Fine Arts was not a long one, as it was less than thirty miles from Rowan's house. As they drove Rikki wished that Zane were with her; she was nervous that Sanderson might recognize her and that could spoil the wedding.

'I'm endangering the wedding,' Rikki thought to herself. 'I shouldn't have come.'

Seeing her distress Bella gave her hand a squeeze.

"It is going to be great!" Bella told her.

In the other limo Emma and Ash sat holding hands, as did Cleo and Lewis across from them.

"Wish you'd had a big wedding?" Lewis whispered to Cleo.

"Kind of, but I'm glad we went and got married when we did," Cleo whispered back.

"Well, maybe we should have a ceremony when we get back home," Lewis told her.

Cleo smiled.

"I think I'd like that," she told him and gave him a kiss on his cheek, then frantically wiped the lip mark off with her hand.

"Hey, don't muss up the best man!" Emma told Cleo with a grin.

* * *

The two limos pulled up one after the other, allowing the wedding party to unload. The remaining cars, with the Yanks and their passengers pulled around and found parking on the street.

"I'll be watching," Zane said and headed towards the far entrance into the complex.

Once everyone else was out they all walked onto the grounds; the obvious meeting point the big Roman rotunda. Garlands of flowers matching Emma colors of pale blue and white were draped around the fake ruins of the park. In the lagoon circular bouquets floated, pushed by ripples from the fountains and the faint breeze.

As they approached the center of the Rotunda they could see that several photographic light screens had been set up to one side, right next to the Lagoon. In the middle of the screens the photographer Mr. Sanderson had set up a tripod and was busily taking photos of a women with bright red hair and a low-cut pale-green dress.

"Who's he taking pictures of?" Rowan asked Emma as she and Ash joined them at the entrance to the Rotunda. "Isn't that your setup?"

"Wait a minute, I know that redhead," Emma said, breaking out into a big smile. "That's Jackie!"

Sure enough it was Jackie, being her normal, out-going self. Seeing them standing there just outside of the Rotunda Jackie waved and beckoned to someone standing next to one of the pillars, who turned out to be Seth. The two hurried out to greet the others, leaving Sanderson behind.

"Emma, oh my gosh, you look gorgeous!" Jackie said. "And Ash, wow!"

"Jackie, what were you doing over there with Mr. Sanderson?" Rikki asked.

"Oh, he volunteered to take my picture; isn't that nice of him?" Jackie replied with a smile.

"Sure it is," Rowan told her, eyeing the cut of her dress. "I'm sure he was just being nice."

Meanwhile the others greeted Seth.

"Told you we'd make it," he told Ash. "Wouldn't have missed this for the world!"

* * *

Once everyone had exchanged greetings, and Emma had introduced her parents to Jackie and Seth, they continued to the center of the Rotunda, where Sanderson was waiting for them.

"Sorry to rush you guys," he told them as they walked up, "but there's another wedding scheduled right after yours and they will need time to set up."

"Okay, what's the plan then?" Emma asked.

"Let's start with the bride only shots, while you look your most radiant," Sanderson told her. "Then we'll add the groom and then the parents and finally the entire wedding party."

"Okay, sounds great," Emma replied.

"Why don't you introduce me to everyone," Sanderson told Emma.

"My parents," Emma said and Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert shook hands with Sanderson.

"The groom's parents?" Sanderson asked, looking around.

"Not coming," Ash said.

"I'm so sorry, Ash," Emma said to him.

"That's okay," he told her and gave her a big smile.

"Okay, the bridesmaids?" Sanderson asked next.

"Cleo, Rikki, and Bella," Emma said, indicating each in turn.

As Emma told Sanderson her name, Rikki was sure he had recognized her as a look went across his face.

"Have we met before?" Sanderson asked Rikki as he shook her hand.

"I don't think so," Rikki told him, suppressing a wave of revulsion at his touch. "I'm from Australia like the others and have never been in the United States before."

"Oh, okay," Sanderson said, dismissing her and looking questioningly at Ash.

"Best man?" Sanderson asked.

"Lewis," Ash said.

"Nice to meet you," Sanderson said as Lewis shook his hand.

"Any others in the wedding party?" Sanderson then asked.

"Well, you've already met Jackie, and her husband Seth," Emma said with a smile.

"Oh, right," Sanderson said, looking a little guilty as Jackie gave him a big smile.

"And Rowan you met at the office," Emma continued, and introduced the rest of the Yanks.

When she got to Melanie and Jake Sanderson looked up in interest.

"Jake Roberts?" Sanderson asked. "Aren't you associated with Senex, that hot startup?"

"Yes, I actually run the company," Jake admitted with a grin.

"Oh, it's great to meet you," Sanderson. "I'd like to talk to you about providing services for your company."

"Sure; after the wedding," Jake said with a smile.

"Of course," Sanderson said with a smile.

After introducing everyone else, except for Zane, who was still watching from the shadows, Sanderson looked at his watch.

"Okay everyone, let's get started," Sanderson said. "Come over here, Emma; I'm all set up for our first shot."

* * *

"So where's your assistant?" Emma asked as Sanderson put her where he wanted.

"Mimi? Oh, she's setting up at the hotel," Sanderson replied as he adjusted the lighting screens.

"Oh, right; she's taking your big photo over for the show," Emma said, worried about being able to access the photo.

"What? Oh, no she's just setting up the place," Sanderson said, checking his camera. "I'll take it over later."

"You aren't taking any chances with it, are you?" Emma asked, inwardly relieved. "I hope my pictures will be just as secure."

"Locked up tight and I have the key right here," Sanderson said, patting his jacket. "Now, Emma, look right here."

* * *

The photo shoot progressed professionally; as Sanderson finished with the first location he quickly moved to the second. But even though it was a warm day he left his jacket on, and Emma was starting to get worried that they were running out of time.

"We're going to have to help him take his coat off," Emma whispered to Cleo as she arranged her dress.

"What do you want to do?" Cleo asked.

"I don't know; just follow my lead," Emma replied.

"We'll be ready," Cleo whispered back.

As they walked towards the table where drinks for the wedding had been set up, Emma noticed a small puddle on the cement. A quick hand thrust at the puddle and it froze over, just as Sanderson was putting his foot down on it.

"Whoa!" Mr. Sanderson exclaimed as he lost balance.

Reaching out his hand Sanderson grabbed for the table to keep himself from falling. As he struggled to keep his balance Cleo made a twisting motion with her hand, and one of the glasses of water on the table exploded, drenching Sanderson's coat.

Sanderson steadied himself with his hand on the table and pushed himself to his feet. He shook off his sleeve, finding his arm drenched with water.

"You okay?" Emma asked as he checked his camera.

"Just got a little wet; don't know how I did that," Sanderson said.

But he showed no inclination to take off his coat; instead he concentrated on his camera. Emma looked to Rikki for help and gestured with her head at Sanderson. Rikki nodded and clenched her hand slightly, just enough to heat up the water in Sanderson's jacket.

"It's getting warm out here, isn't it?" Sanderson asked as a drop of sweat rolled down his face.

"A little bit," Emma told him.

"Excuse me a moment," Sanderson said and walked to where his equipment was stashed.

Sanderson removed his jacket and draped it over the top of one of his bags. Before walking back he wiped off his face with a towel. As he did so, Emma waved at Rowan, who nodded.

"Shall we continue?" Sanderson asked as he rejoined Emma and the rest of wedding party.

"Yes; lets!" Emma said.

* * *

After getting setup for the next shot Ash stopped him from continuing.

"Uh, Mr. Sanderson? Can I ask you a question?" Ash asked.

"Sure," Sanderson said.

"So what do you think if Emma goes over there?" Ash asked, pointing away from the complex to where Emma was standing.

As Sanderson turned to look, Zane darted out of the shadows to where Sanderson's gear was and rummaged through the pockets of Sanderson's coat, looking for the keys.

"What?" Sanderson asked. "No, I think she should be closer to the complex."

As Sanderson started to turn back to face the complex Emma squealed loudly.

"Eeek!" Emma cried, looking around her.

"What's wrong?" Sanderson asked, turning back to see what was wrong.

"Uh, I think I saw a mouse," Emma said, making something up.

"That's odd," Sanderson said. "I didn't think there were mice here."

Emma saw Zane raise his hand, having found the keys, and then hurry back into the shadows.

"Hmm, maybe it was a shadow," Emma said. "So where's the next shot?"

* * *

"Got them," Zane said to Rowan, who was waiting by her car. "Let's go!"

"Wait, we need Bella," Rowan told him.

"Bella?" Zane asked.

"Yes, I have an idea," Rowan told him.

* * *

"Uh, Emma?" Rowan asked, hurrying up to where Sanderson was taking the last of the solitary bridal shots. "Can I borrow Bella for a moment?"

"Sure; what's up?" Emma asked, curious.

"Some issues with the party; it shouldn't take too much time," Rowand explained.

"Come right back, though," Sanderson said. "We'll be doing the bridesmaids shots right after the shots with the bride and groom."

"We'll hurry," Rowan said.

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 11, Mission Impossible_

Thanks for reading this far. Comments and reviews welcome!


	11. Mission Impossible

**Mission Impossible** **\- Chapter 11 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter; it sure was a fun one to write!

* * *

Rowan returned with Bella in tow and they quickly joined Zane inside her car. Rowan had already plotted the quickest route to the photographer's office and luckily it was only about twenty minutes away.

Rowan parked the car half a block away from the address and they walked back to scope out the entrance. There was a Closed sign in the door, but with a disclaimer that the photographer was out on a job and to visit the website.

Stepping back into the shadow of the neighboring building, Rowan motioned at the door.

"There's a camera and an alarm system," Rowan explained. "I think I can handle the alarm system but we need to gum up the camera."

"Oh, right," Bella said. "I just need some water."

"And that I have," Zane said, pulling out a bottle of water out of the backpack he was wearing. "How do you want it?"

"Toss it over, as close to the door as you can," Rowan told him.

Zane tossed the bottle and it landed on its side and rolled up against the door. Rowan then made a twisting motion with her hand and the top of the bottle spun off and a tendril of water emerged from the bottle. The tendril rose up and snaked its way under the door, then upwards to form a circle of water around the video camera on the wall.

"Okay Bella, is that enough?" Rowan asked, holding the water in place.

"Perfect," Bella said and made a gesture at the water around the camera.

With a glorp the water surrounding the camera solidified into a ball of gel, covering the camera and the lens with a gooey mass.

"Okay, how long do we have?" Rowan asked.

"If I hit it again about 15 minutes," Bella told her.

"Hopefully that will be enough time," Rowan said. "Do it."

Bella gave the glob another gesture and the ball of goo turned opaque.

"Done," she told them.

"Now what?" Zane asked.

Rowan thrust her hand at the alarm unit inside the shop and a thick layer of frost suddenly coated it, killing the circuits.

"Okay, let's go!" Rowan told him.

* * *

After making sure there wasn't anyone else on the street near the shop Zane chose a key from the key ring and inserted it into the lock. After twisting the key he nervously opened the door, but there was no reaction from the alarm system: no lights, bells, or sirens.

Sighing with relief Zane stepped into shop with Rowan and Bella on his heels. Once inside Bella closed the door, as Zane looked the place over.

"I saw most of the office when I was here with Emma," Rowan explained, leading the way past the assistant's desk towards Sanderson's office and the hall leading back. "Except for these rooms back here."

The first room down the hall had a unlit red light on the wall next to the door. Zane checked the door and found it unlocked so he opened it. Inside they could see camera equipment, basins, clotheslines, and shelves stocked with what looked to be chemicals.

"Darkroom?" Bella asked and Zane nodded.

"Let's keep going," Rowan told them. "What about that door right there?"

Midway down the hallway was another door. Instead of the simple doorknob lock that they had seen on the other doors there was a separate lock above the door handle. The entire handle and lock area was also covered with reinforced metal plates.

"This looks promising," Zane said, stooping to examine the lock.

The lock was not a normal lock; it obviously was electronic as there was a small glowing red LED next to the keyhole. Zane pulled the bundle of keys out of his pocket and looked through them. Besides the key to the front door, a car key, a padlock key, and a couple of other small keys there was a key with a long narrow haft and a LED light on the bow. Zane compared the haft with the keyhole and it appeared that it was a match.

"Be ready to run just in case," Zane told the others and inserted the key into the lock.

For a moment nothing happened and then there was a click and the lights on both the lock and the key changed to green. Zane tried the handle and the door opened inwards slightly, just enough for Zane to peer inside.

The inside of the fortified room was dark, too dark to see into, even with the door held all of the way open. Zane felt around to the inside of the door and discovered two light switches. Peering around the edge of the door her could see the switches: one appeared to be in a darker color than the other.

"Two switches," Zane said to the two mermaids.

"Try one," said Bella.

"Suppose it sounds an alarm," Zane countered.

"We'll have to take that chance," Rowan interjected.

"I'll try the darker switch," Zane said and flipped the second switch up.

A bank of red lights turned on, bathing the room in a soft red glow. Even though the lighting in the room was still dim it was enough for Zane to read the text above the switches: 'White' and 'Red'. Zane flipped the switch marked White up and bright recessed can lights set into the ceiling of the room came on, flooding the room with light.

"Wow, that's bright," Bella exclaimed as she and Rowan joined Zane in the room.

Looking around they could see several metal filing cabinets on one wall, shelves holding both wooden and metal boxes on the back wall, and in the corner a big, metal safe with a combination lock on the front. There were hundreds of large photographic prints, each encased in protective plastic wrap, stored in racks against the wall opposite the filing cabinets. But what drew their attention was what was in the center of the room.

In the middle of the room was an easel holding a large rectangular object, with a white tarp thrown over the top to cover and protect what was underneath.

"This has got to be it," Bella said as they approached the easel.

"Carefully!" Rowan said to Zane as he reached out for the tarp.

Zane drew back the tarp, revealing that the object was a large photograph, just what they had guessed. He carefully folded the tarp back so that it could be dropped back in place exactly the way it had been before. He then stood back and looked at the photo with Bella and Rowan.

"Wow!" Zane exclaimed.

* * *

"That is a gorgeous shot!" Rowan said as they looked at the picture.

The photo was a close-up of the small pool at the red sand beach near Hana. Completely exposed in the center of the pool, with her tail stretched out behind her, was Rikki, her face turned towards the camera and her long, wet hair spread out on her back.

The colors of the photo were bright and vibrant and there were pinpoints of reflected sunlight glittering off of Rikki's damp scales.

"I want it for our house!" Zane exclaimed. "Come on, let's grab it and get out of here!"

"First let's see if we can find the negatives," Rowan told him. "Otherwise he'll just be able to make another."

"Oh, right," Zane replied.

* * *

Zane discovered storage sheets holding negatives in the wooden boxes on the shelves, but they were all dated from several years earlier. In the metal boxes he found flash memory cards, dated and also named. But the most recent date was for March of that same year, and none of the cards said anything about mermaids or Hana.

In the filing cabinets Rowan found sheets of developed photos, all organized by date with the names of the subjects. But they appeared to be partially filled orders and proofs with nothing very recent.

Bella looked through the racks of prints, looking for ones showing Rikki. The subject of a large, black and white print made her blush, but she hurriedly pushed past it and finished looking through the prints. Having found nothing she turned and looked at the safe in the corner.

Zane and Rowan joined her in looking at the safe.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Bella asked them.

"They must be in the safe," Zane said worriedly. "Can you guys open it?"

There was a big round combination lock on the front of the safe, but no keyhole visible anywhere. Bella and Rowan looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I don't know how we could break into that," Bella said.

"Uh oh; what are we going to do?" Zane asked.

* * *

"I was afraid of this," Rowan said as they looked between the safe and the print on the easel. "We can't just take the print."

"Right," Bella said. "If we don't get the negatives or memory cards he'll be able to make prints any time he wants."

"So what do we do?" Zane asked. "Can we torch the inside of the safe?"

"Neither of us has the heat power," Bella told him. "And I'm not even sure if that would work."

"What we need to do is to make him not want the originals anymore," Rowan said.

"How could we do that?" Zane asked. "I'm sorry but I'm not coming up with any ideas here."

"That's okay, I thought we might have a hard time getting the originals," Rowan explained. "That's why I insisted we bring Bella along."

"Huh?" Bella asked. "What can I do?"

"Come look at the print again," Rowan told her and the three went and stood in front of the photograph on the easel.

"What's this a picture of?" Rowan asked.

"Obviously of Rikki, a mermaid," Zane replied. "That's the problem."

"A real mermaid," Rowan explained. "That's why it's worth so much to Sanderson."

"But if it wasn't a picture of a real mermaid…" Bella said, a smile growing on her face.

"Then it wouldn't be worth anything to him, or to anyone else," Rowan finished.

"Oh, that's good," Bella said, studying the picture.

* * *

"Are you guys going to explain this to me?" Zane asked, staring at the picture.

"Just wait a second," Bella told him, moving in so that her nose was just a couple of inches away from the picture and squinted. "Ah, I got it."

"Here, Zane, take a picture of the print with my camera," Rowan told him as Bella moved out of the way. "I disabled location services and it won't post anywhere."

"Um, okay," Zane said, taking the phone from Rowan and taking a shot of the print.

"Now…" he started to ask but before he could finish his question Bella made a very small twisting motion at the photo, holding her hand in place for several seconds.

Bella then leaned back in and examined the print, the smile returning to her face.

"What about now?" Bella asked.

Both Rowan and Zane leaned in and looked at the photo closely. After a second Zane chuckled.

"Got it; oh, that's good!' he exclaimed.

"Perfect!" Rowan exclaimed. "Let's get everything back in place and get back to the Palace."

Bella glanced at her watch.

"Oh crap, the camera!" she exclaimed.

* * *

"Hurry!" Bella exclaimed as Zane pulled the tarp back down over the photo.

"Get going, I'm right behind you," Zane told her and they fled back out towards the front door, Zane pausing only briefly to turn off the lights and lock the door.

As they passed the assistant's desk there was a plop as a big drop of goo fell from the camera onto the door.

"Out!" Zane told Bella and Rowan, following them through the door and quickly locking it behind him.

The three stepped to the side and looked back, just in time to see the entire congealed mass around the camera suddenly turn back into water and pour onto the floor.

"Wow, just barely made it," Zane told Rowan and Bella, who was smirking. "What?"

"I could have hit it again…" Bella said with a grin.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Zane asked, exasperated.

"It was too much fun watching you panic," Bella replied, causing Rowan to laugh.

"Come on you two, let's get back," she told them and led the way back to her car.

* * *

Rowan drove carefully back to the Palace, parking close to where she had parked before.

"See you guys later," Zane said and hopped out of the back, heading for the shadows again.

Rowan and Bella quickly walked into the complex, towards where they could Sanderson and the others talking. Seeing them approaching Sanderson gestured for them to hurry.

"Come on, you two, it's time for the bridesmaid shots!" he said. "We did the shots with Emma's parents while you were gone."

"Is everything okay?' Emma asked Bella when she joined the wedding party.

"I think so," Bella told her. "We'll know tonight, I mean tomorrow, at the party," she added hurriedly as Sanderson was listening.

The next group of shots were on the other side of the Rotunda as the light had changed, allowing Zane to easily slip the keys back into Sanderson's coat, which he discovered was now completely dry. After making sure that no one had seen him replace the keys Zane slipped back to the back of the pillars, watching the wedding party through gaps in the walls.

* * *

After Sanderson was through with the group photos they all headed back towards the Rotunda, where the actual wedding was going to take place. Enough chairs for Emma's parents and Rowan and the other Yanks had been set up, in two groups with an aisle between them leading to the far end of the Rotunda, next to the lagoon.

Leaving the wedding party in the center of the dome, Sanderson excused himself and went to his supplies and got a different lens. After switching out lenses he checked his coat, and finding it dry pulled it back on before heading back to the Rotunda.

"So now what?" Emma asked as Sanderson joined them again.

"Well, now you get married," he told her, gesturing towards where the minister stood waiting for them.

"Oh, right," Emma said, giggling. "With everything else going on I almost forgot."

Sanderson gave her an amused smile and took his place where he could get the best shots.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Ash asked Emma, as they looked down the aisle towards the minister and then to the side where the musicians waited.

Emma had wanted piano/cello music for the wedding and Rowan had helped her hire a couple of well-recommended locals. Now they were in place, patiently waiting for her signal.

"Yes, let's go," Emma told him and grabbed his hand to take him to the front.

"Uh, Emma," Ash told her, holding her back. "You need to wait here for a minute, remember?"

"Oh, right!" Emma said, blushing. "I forgot."

"Here's your dad; I'll meet you at the other end of the aisle," Ash said with a grin.

* * *

Ash and Lewis led the way up the aisle to take their place next to the minister. Once Mrs. Gilbert and Eliot were seated the rest of the Yanks filled in the seats around the aisle. Cleo gave Emma's bouquet one more look over and then took her place with Rikki and Bella at the back of the aisle.

As they stood in the back Mr. Gilbert took Emma's hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"Ready, sweetie?" he asked softly.

"Ready, Dad," Emma told him, squeezing his hand back.

Mr. Gilbert offered his arm to Emma as she nodded at Cleo and then at the musicians. The sounds of Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years' started and Cleo led the way forwards, with Rikki and Bella following evenly spaced behind. As Bella reached the front Emma and her father started off, slowly walking up the aisle.

At the top of the aisle Mr. Gilbert gave Emma a kiss and handed her off to Ash, who took her hand and turned to face the minister. Lewis joined him on the right and Cleo, Rikki, and Bella joined Emma on the left.

* * *

The rest of ceremony was a blur to Emma and Ash, who just stood there and stared at each other. They were just aware enough of what was going on to respond appropriately when the minister asked them a question. When Lewis handed Ash the ring he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it, so enraptured he was by the sight of Emma standing there with him.

"Put it on Emma's finger," Lewis told him, much to the amusement of the rest of the wedding party.

"Oh, right," Ash said, grinning at Emma and taking her hand.

The ring was in gold, patterned just like golden seaweed and scales. Once it was firmly in place on Emma's finger the two turned back to the minister.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the minister pronounced. "You may now kiss the bride."

Ash lifted Emma's veil and the two kissed, to the cheers of the entire wedding party. And then, to the sounds of the musicians the two walked back down the aisle to the center of the Rotunda.

* * *

Rikki followed Cleo and Lewis back down the aisle towards where Emma and Ash were waiting for them. When she got to where Rowan and Paul were waiting she stopped and gave Rowan a big hug.

"Thanks for everything," Rikki told her. "I don't know if I could have done it without you."

"I'm glad I could help," Rowan said, watching as Mr. Sanderson took more pictures. "I wasn't completely sure we would be able to pull it off."

"It did feel like an impossible mission, didn't it?" Rikki asked.

"Yes it did, but we did it anyway," Rowan said.

"Yes we did!" Rikki exclaimed. "We got Emma and Ash married!"

* * *

After tossing the bouquet, which Tanya caught and then promptly gave her longtime boyfriend Stephen 'The Look', Emma and Ash left by themselves in the first limo. The rest of the wedding party stood on the curb and waved as the limo carried the two newlyweds off to an undisclosed location. The only person who knew where they were going was Rowan, and she refused to tell any of the others where that was.

After the limo rounded the corner and vanished the rest of the wedding party split up for the ride back to San Rafael. As Jake and Melanie headed for their car, Mr. Sanderson hurried up to talk to them.

"Excuse me, Mr. Roberts?" Sanderson said.

"Mr. Sanderson; thanks again for taking the pictures," Jake told him.

"Yes, I can't wait to see them," Melanie told him.

"My pleasure," Sanderson replied.

"So what can I do for you?" Jake asked Sanderson, seeing that he wanted to ask something.

"Well Mr. Roberts, I'm holding a release party tonight for a special photo I took, and I would love it if you and your wife would come," Sanderson replied, holding out a card. "I understand the wedding party is not until tomorrow night…"

"We'd love to come," Melanie said to Sanderson. "I love photography!"

"I guess we're coming," Jake said to Sanderson with a smile and looked at the card. "At eight then?"

"Thanks; this means a lot to me," Sanderson said and after shaking both Jake and Melanie's hand excused himself and went to finish loading his gear.

"What was that all about?" Jake asked Melanie as he helped her into the car.

"Rowan says we have some unfinished business," Melanie told him.

* * *

 _Continued_ _with Chapter 12, Proof_

Thanks for reading. Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what Bella did...


	12. Proof

**Proof -** **Chapter 12 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

Thanks for your patience; I was completely off the grid for a while.

* * *

Mr. Sanderson pulled the memory card out of his camera and annotated it with 'Dove Wedding' and the date. After importing them into the proof application on his computer he verified that a new activity was available on his website. Sanderson then printed out a card with the temporary userid and password needed to view that activity, and then put the card in the tray for his assistant Mimi to mail out, the next time she came in. Bringing up Emma's account he emailed an electronic copy of the card to her.

After ejecting the memory card he shut his computer down and left his office, heading down the hall to his storage room. He inserted the electronic key into the lock and waited until the lock and key showed green, then twisted the handle and pushed the door open. Without looking Sanderson reached out to the side and flipped up a light switch, turning on the bright white can lights that filled the storage room with light.

After closing the door he stopped in front of the easel and the covered print that was on it. Sanderson was tempted to look at it again right that moment, but decided he needed to put the memory card from the wedding away first. He turned to the shelves on one side of the room and reached for the metal box that held his most recent projects.

"Hmm, that's odd," Sanderson said.

The box was not on the top of the stack; it was on the shelf by itself, next to the others.

"Can't have that," Sanderson exclaimed and after putting the memory card into the box he put the box on top of the stack, in its proper place.

* * *

Sanderson turned to the easel in the center of the room and walked around it, wondering if this was it. Stopping in front of the easel he pulled the tarp off of the print and smiled. The photo was one of his very best; even without the incredible subject in the center he had gotten everything else just about right. Color, lighting, focus; it was absolutely perfect. And to have captured a real mermaid; that was unbelievable!

Sanderson had gotten tired of weddings, even though he was very good at it. What he wanted was something edgier, something high profile, something sexier! Like something with that redhead from the wedding party; that would be fun.

"No more weddings," he said out loud. "With this I can finally do what I've always wanted to do. And if just a couple of those hotshots show up tonight it'll be easy street from now on!"

Sanderson's phone alarm pinged. Pulling it out of his pocket he looked at the notification.

"Oh, crap, get moving!" Sanderson said.

Carefully he put the photo in a padded travel case and locked it with a padlock. Leaving the case for a moment he went to the safe that stood in the corner of the room and entered the combination. When the door clicked open he reached into the safe and removed a proof case, opening it momentarily to verify that the memory card and proofs were in place and in order.

Sanderson slipped the proof case into the pocket of his coat and grabbed the travel case. After closing the door he verified that the lock was engaged as the red LEDs on his key and on the lock were illuminated. Sanderson then turned on the alarm and turned to head out the side door to where his car was parked, when suddenly he noticed a puddle on the carpet under the security camera. Looking up he noticed that the ceiling above the camera was slightly wet and stained.

"Dang; looks like a leak of some type," Sanderson exclaimed. "Just one more thing to have to worry about."

Leaving the puddle behind he headed outside and carefully stowed the travel case in his car. Once he was sure it was well secured he started up the engine and headed for the Embarcadero.

* * *

Sanderson's assistant Mimi had spent most of the morning setting up the small presentation room at the Hyatt Regency at Embarcadero Center. She knew how much her boss was investing in the presentation that night; whatever the photo was that he was presenting had better be a good one, or she was probably going to be out of a job. Still, she was a very professional assistant and everything was in order and prepared. Bios had been distributed, the spotlights were in place, audio had been tested, everything except for the positioning of the big wonder.

Mimi checked that the microphone was working again, and looked for the fifth time at her watch. Her boss was 15 minutes late, and the first guests were due to arrive in thirty minutes. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to do one more check she went to the lighting control panel and ran through the spots.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Sanderson arrived at the hotel and hurried back to the room he had rented. Entering the room he discovered that his assistant Mimi was as efficient as usual and that everything was in order.

"How much time do we have?" Sanderson asked as he carried the travel case up to the front, where Mimi had set up the presentation easel next to the podium.

"Fifteen minutes," Mimi told him.

"Perfect; well done!" Sanderson told her, his eyes sliding over her like they always did.

If Mimi didn't need the job so bad she'd have long ago told him to go to hell; the way he looked at her sometimes was just creepy. Hopefully the event today would give him more to do and less time to leer at her.

"Need any help getting set up?" Mimi asked, hoping for a glimpse of the thing.

"Nope; you'll have to wait like all the others," Sanderson replied, turning the easel around so that it faced away from the audience. "Why don't you go take your place at the table?"

Mimi's place was at the entrance to the room, where she had set up a table with information about Sanderson's photography business and an iPad for collecting contact information from prospective buyers. Shrugging Mimi went to the table and after giving the room one more look over, sat down and waited.

After Mimi walked off Sanderson pulled the print from the travel case and checked that it was undamaged and ready for display. Finding nothing amiss he placed it on the presentation easel and covered it with a fine cloth cover. After turning the easel around and making sure that the floodlights were centered he stepped off to the side and checked his watch. It was time.

* * *

About ten minutes later Sanderson had started to panic as no one had arrived yet and he was due to make the announcement in just a couple of minutes. He glanced at his assistant waiting patiently at the back table but Mimi just shrugged. Wondering what to do he was about to wander down to talk to her when he heard voices approaching.

"Ah, here it is," a man said, coming into the room. "There you are, Sanderson; I had the dangdest time finding the right room. You need more signs."

It was Arthur Trubble, one of SFPICT's acquisition men. Sanderson had worked with him before and had found him to be completely no-nonsense, without any sense of humor. Yet he had an eye for good photography and SFPICT paid good money. If they were interested then the odds for a big payout had suddenly doubled.

"Welcome, Arthur," Sanderson said, coming forward. "Looks like we're a little slow getting going, but we should have a few more coming."

"If this picture is as good as you say it is, I hope not," Trubble said. "Less competition that way."

"Why don't you sign in with my assistant, grab a drink, and take a seat," Sanderson said. "I'm going to go see what happened to the signs."

Leaving Trubble with his assistant, Sanderson headed out of the room and found that there were several people that he had invited out in the lobby of the hotel. Either they had gotten sidetracked by the striking interior of the hotel or had missed the signs, which on second thought looked woefully small compared to the size of the lobby.

After directing several prospective customers towards the conference room Sanderson noticed Jake and Melanie Roberts just entering the lobby from the elevators. With a big smile her hurried over to them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, so glad you could come," Sanderson told them.

"Sounds too interesting to miss," Jake told him.

"Great!" Sanderson exclaimed. "Now if you could come this way, we need to get started."

* * *

Sanderson led the way back to the room where several prominent photo buyers and magazine representatives had gathered, joining Mr. Trubble in the seats. After leaving Jake and Melanie with his assistant, Sanderson walked up to the front to wait for them to take their seats.

"Any idea what the photo is about?" Jake asked Mimi as he presented her with a business card.

"Not a clue," Mimi told him as she scanned the card.

"Sounds like whatever it is it is really impressive," Melanie said as Mimi handed Jake an information packet.

"It better be," Mimi said. "Otherwise I might be out of a job."

"Oh?" Jake asked.

"I shouldn't have said that," Mimi said. "Please forget I said it."

"Here; if you need a change you call me," Jake told her, indicating his card. "I could always use competent people in my business."

"Thanks; I might just do that," Mimi told him. "Now, you'd better go get a drink and take your seats."

* * *

Once everyone was settled in their seats Sanderson walked to the podium.

"Thanks for coming," he said. "I don't want to bore you with a speech or descriptions when I can just let my picture speak for itself. But I'm sure you will realize the significance of it once you see it."

"Then let's see it, Sanderson, and stop wasting time," Trubble spoke up. "We'll judge its worth."

"Of course," Sanderson said. "So, without anymore ado, here is the picture."

With a flourish he whipped off the cloth, uncovering the print so that they could all see it. Melanie and Jake could see easily from their seats that it was a very high-resolution image of Rikki lying in a pool on a beach in Hawaii. And it was pretty obvious what she was.

"What's that; a mermaid?" Trubble asked. "Sanderson, you've lost your mind."

"This is an actual picture I took just a few weeks ago in Hawaii," Sanderson explained. "Completely unmodified and original, just blown up."

"Mermaids don't exist," one of the attendees said. "It's just fantasy."

"I saw her with my own eyes," Sanderson said. "She swam in from the ocean and then I took this photo."

"I assume you have the negatives," Trubble said.

"The raw images from my camera, yes," Sanderson replied, patting his jacket. "And you can verify that they are untouched."

"We'd want to verify that they are real before buying them," another attendee said.

"That can be arranged," Sanderson said. "I think you will find them to be of some worth."

"If what you say is true, then yes, they would be worth a lot," Trubble said. "We'd want exclusive ownership."

"Now wait a minute," a woman who had until then stayed quiet said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before we talk about price, why don't you take a closer look at the print," Sanderson said. "I'm sure that'll help you decide its worth."

* * *

Trubble led the way to the easel and looked closer at the print.

"Excellent work here, Sanderson," Trubble said, looking up. "The colors are outstanding."

"I thought you'd like it," Sanderson said.

"That's very nice work," Jake said. "A mermaid; who'd have thought?"

Trubble pulled a small magnifying viewer out of his pocket and, careful not to touch the surface of the print, examined it through the magnifier. Suddenly he jerked back and gave Sanderson a funny look before turning his attention back to the print. After a moment he let out a guffaw and turned away from the print and pocketed the viewer. Without a backward glance Trubble stepped away from the easel and headed for the rear doors.

"Uh, Arthur?" Sanderson asked.

"Can't believe you'd try that, Sanderson," Trubble said. "You must be pretty desperate."

With that Trubble dropped the information packet on the desk next to Mimi and left, without another word. Mimi watched incredulously as the remaining attendees one after the other took a closer look at the print and then left. The last to look at the photo was Jake and Melanie, who leaned in and then gave Sanderson an amused look.

"What?" Sanderson asked, confused.

"Yeah, what?" Mimi asked, walking up to them from her position at the desk.

"Look a little closer at the, uh, mermaid's tail," Jake said and stepped away from the easel to escort Melanie out of the room.

* * *

Sanderson looked at his picture of the mermaid and tried to see what the others had seen. But whatever the others had seen he couldn't see. Turning to Mimi he waved her forward. Mimi stepped in and looked the photo over for a moment before it dawned on her what everyone had seen.

Mimi quickly walked back to the table and wrote out a note for her boss with two words: "I quit!" She then grabbed the card Jake had given her and slipped it into her purse. Mimi then gave Sanderson a sad look and shook her head before leaving, causing Sanderson's jaw to drop as he watched her go.

"What the hell is going on?" Sanderson exclaimed, turning back to the print.

Suddenly he saw it: along the top of the mermaid's tail a thin line could be seen. Looking closer he followed the line to the mermaid's waist where it ended at an unmistakable shape.

"Holy crap; that's a zipper!" Sanderson exclaimed. "Wait; that means the mermaid is just … a girl in a costume."

Sanderson sat down heavily on one of the chairs closest to the easel and put his face in his hands. After a moment he raised his head and looked around at the empty room.

"Oh man, I should have checked closer," Sanderson said. "I should have known it was too good to be true."

Sanderson thought about that day and what he had seen. First the couple heading down the trail to the beach, with a bag of beach gear. Then sneaking back to possibly catch them doing something risqué. Then seeing a mermaid swimming in the pool and onto the beach. Then taking a whole sequence of shots. Then the mermaid shouting at him and he deciding to get out of there fast.

"That was the girl walking down the trail to the beach," Sanderson realized. "Oh, crap!"

There wasn't anything more for him to do; his reputation as an investigative photographer had been ruined before he had gotten started. Maybe he should just stick with wedding photography; he was good at that.

"I better get back and get to work on those Dove photos," Sanderson muttered and started to cleanup his stuff from the room. Seeing Mimi's note he added, "And see if I can get a new assistant."

After packing up the photo into the travel case Sanderson collected his scattered gear and checked his pockets for his keys. Finding the proof case in his jacket pocket he pulled it out and after giving it a glance tossed it into the trash behind the table. Sighing Sanderson picked up his case and easel and left.

* * *

Moments after Sanderson had left Melanie stepped from behind the curtains at the back of the room. She quickly walked around the table and retrieved the proof case from the trash.

"I think I'll just take these with me," Melanie said as she slipped the case into her purse and vanished back into the curtains.

* * *

 _Continued with Chapter 13, The Party_

Poor Mr. Sanderson. Maybe he learned his lesson. Hope the wedding photography business picks up...

As usual, comments and thoughts are welcome and appreciated! We're not done yet, folks.


	13. The Party

**The Party** **-** **Chapter 13 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

Except for a brief epilogue, this is it, folks...

* * *

"That was Melanie," Rowan said to Rikki as she pocketed her smart phone. "She says not to worry; everything has been taken care of."

"How can you be sure?" Rikki asked.

She and Zane had worried all evening, after leaving the wedding and returning to San Rafael. Bella and the others had tried to calm her down, but even Bella's insistence that she had taken care of the print and Rowan telling her that Melanie would pick up the pieces hadn't soothed her mind.

"She also said to check tomorrow's newspaper," Rowan added.

In the end they had to be content to wait, as there was nothing more for them to do about it that evening. After the Gilbert's left for their hotel, taking Elliot with them, the remaining wedding party caravanned back out to Muir Beach to allow the mermaids time to stretch their tails in the ocean. The moon pool there was just as crowded as before; even though Emma was off with Ash at their undisclosed location Jackie was up from Los Angeles and that meant seven mermaids. The area around the Muir Beach moon pool was much smaller than the Mako Island pool and it would be too crowded if everyone went in.

"We'll just wait out here for you guys," Zane told Rikki. "Enjoy your swim."

"You guys could go in the water, too," Rikki told him. "From the beach."

"Maybe we will," Zane said. "We'll look for you."

* * *

After leaving the mermaids near the rocks surrounding the entrance into the cliffs the guys all went and found a place on the sand not too far from the water to wait.

Will and Zane pulled off their shirts and took a couple of steps down towards the ocean.

"Any one else coming in?" Zane asked.

"Too cold for me," Seth told them.

Both Jake and Stephen agreed with Seth, but Paul indicated he was interested and pulled off his shirt and kicked off his sandals.

"Lewis, how 'bout you?" Zane asked.

"You guys go on ahead," Lewis told them. "I want to get a sample of water from the moon pool here first."

"Lewis; relax!" Zane exclaimed with a grin. "Stop with the experiments!"

"That is how I relax," Lewis protested.

"Fine; go ahead," Zane told him, smiling as Lewis headed towards the entrance into the cliff. "You guys ready?"

* * *

The next morning Rikki woke up and stretched, yawning as she did so. She had slept very well; the swim the evening before had been a good one and they had all exercised their tails.

Rikki gave Zane, who was still snoozing in the bed, a quick kiss. Zane mumbled and rolled over onto his side. Rikki stared at him sleeping in the bed; still finding it strange that she and him were married. Smiling she climbed out of bed and checked the clock. It was well after nine in the morning and her smile changed to a frown as she again started to worry about the photograph. Remembering Melanie's instructions to check the newspaper Rikki threw on a robe and left Zane sleeping and headed out of the room towards the stairs down to the main floor.

Someone had been cooking as the smell of bacon and eggs wafted past her nose and Rikki's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she was hungry. She hurried down the stairs and found the remains of breakfast on the table next to the kitchen and Rowan in the kitchen.

"Hey, sleepy head," Rowan told her. "Have a seat and have some food; the others have already eaten and went with Jackie and Tanya for a tour of the City. I would have woken you up, but technically you and Zane are still on your honeymoon and I didn't want to disturb you."

Rikki blushed as Rowan gave her a wink.

"Hey, you'll be able to tease Emma and Ash later, when they come for the party tonight," Rowan told her with a grin. "Now sit and eat!"

A smile went across Rikki's face as she realized that yes, it would be Emma and Ash's turn for a ribbing. The thought made her feel good, but then she remembered the photo again and the smile faded from her face.

"Still worried about Sanderson?" Rowan asked, setting a bowl of scrambled eggs down next to Rikki. "Here, let me get you the paper."

Rowan returned with a section of the local newspaper, folded open to a page in the local culture section. Rikki scanned the page and found a small article towards the bottom of the page:

 **Mermaid Proof Proved Hoax**

 _Local photographer Jason Sanderson presented a group of interested collectors with what he claimed was proof of the existence of mermaids last night at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center, but appeared flabbergasted when it was pointed out that the mermaid in his photo was clearly wearing a costume. Local business owner Jake Roberts said he felt sorry for Sanderson; that other than being a fake it "was a really nice picture." Sanderson could not be reached for comment._

"Wow, you guys really did it!" Rikki exclaimed, feeling the worry melt from her. "Oh, this is wonderful!"

"What's wonderful, beautiful?" Zane asked, coming down the stairs.

Rikki ran to Zane and threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss, completely ignoring Rowan. After a minute Rowan coughed to remind them that she was still there.

"Quiet, Rowan," Rikki broke off her kiss with Zane long enough to say, "We're still on our honeymoon."

* * *

Later that evening everyone started to gather at Rowan and Paul's house for the wedding party. Rowan had a whole house full of helpers and the house and backyard were completely cleaned and decorated, with flowers and the garlands from the wedding the day before. Burning torches were in every corner of the yard and candlelights floated in the pool. Jake and the Gilberts had gone in together and had arranged for a caterer to provide the food and drink for the party; after everything had been setup the caterers left and everyone gathered in the back to wait for Emma and Ash to arrive.

Will had volunteered to take pictures of the party and darted in and out of the others, snapping shots with his digital camera.

"Are you going to tell us yet where Emma and Ash stayed last night?" Cleo asked Rowan as they waited.

"I think I can tell you now," Rowan said with a smile. "They stayed in Carmel, about 3 hours south of here. At a place called the Tickle Pink Inn."

"Sounds, uh, romantic," Rikki said with a grin.

"All of the rooms have great views of the ocean and the service is great; it's a perfect place for a honeymoon," Rowan explained. "Paul and I stayed there a couple of years ago for a Valentine's Day getaway."

"Any bets as to how much of the ocean they actually saw?" Rikki said aside to Cleo.

"Rikki!" Cleo exclaimed then a smile stole across her face. "Uh, none actually."

"You guys are incorrigible!" Bella said, but also with a smile. "Let's make sure we ask them!"

* * *

On a chair near the pool Elliot was sitting, bored out of his skull. Except for the tour of San Francisco the trip had so far been pretty lame. Okay, so Emma's wedding had been a little interesting, but all the photography had been boring. He had managed to talk with Kim a few minutes the night prior, but she had just been leaving for her afternoon shift at Sea World and their conversation had been rushed. At least he had something to look forward to: his dad had said he could have a glass of champagne, to toast his sister when the time came.

Elliot's parents were talking with Paul and Rowan when Melanie and Jake walked up to Rikki and Zane, who were sharing a kiss at the overlook.

"Hey you two, we never gave you a wedding present," Melanie said.

"That's okay," Rikki replied. "You've done more than enough for us."

"But we really want you to have this," Melanie said and nodded to Jake, who held out a leather case tied up with a ribbon and a bow.

"Go ahead, open it," Jake told them.

Rikki and Zane pulled the ribbon off of the case and opened it. Inside they found a SD memory card with 'Mermaid' written on it and a small collection of three by five prints. The prints were of the beach in Hawaii, showing Rikki in her mermaid form either swimming around the pool or resting partially on the red sand beach.

"Are these the originals?" Rikki asked, astonished, as she shared the prints with Zane.

"Yes; that's what Sanderson said, before he threw them in the trash," Melanie said with a grin.

"You guys are so wonderful!" Rikki said, giving Melanie a great big hug. "I, no, we don't know how to thank you enough!"

"Hey, mermaids stick together, right?" Melanie asked.

"Well, these are going to be taken home and locked up tight," Rikki said.

"Yeah, it'd be a shame to destroy them," Zane said. "They're such great pictures."

"Admit it; you're a little biased towards the subject," Jake said.

"Damn right," Zane said and quickly gave Rikki another kiss.

* * *

Laughing Melanie and Jake were just turning to walk back when Rowan shouted for their attention.

"Hey everyone; they're just arriving!" Rowan told them once everyone was looking her way.

"About time," Elliot muttered as the rest of the party gathered around the door leading out from the house.

A couple of minutes later Rowan threw the doors open and Emma and Ash stepped out, to the cheers of the gathered party. Even though it was a casual event Emma was wearing a dress, in the pale blue color that she loved. A single white plumeria blossom had been tucked into her hair, over her left ear. Ash was more casually attired, with a pair of smart shorts and a polo shirt. They were holding each other's hands and looked very pleased with themselves.

After everyone had had a chance to greet the happy couple, Rikki, Cleo, and Bella pulled Emma to the side, away from Ash and the others.

"Congratulations, Emma!' Cleo told Emma. "How does it feel to be married like all the rest of us?"

"I still can't believe it," Emma told her friends. "Just a few weeks ago we still hadn't planned anything, and now here I am, married. Not that I'm complaining…"

Emma looked over to where the guys were talking with Ash and gave him a big smile, which he returned.

"So how was the Tickle Pink?" Rikki asked, winking at Cleo.

"The what?" Emma asked, confused.

"You know, the hotel you stayed at last night?" Rikki said with a grin as Bella and Cleo chuckled.

"Oh, I didn't notice what it was called," Emma said, her face turning red.

"And what about that view?" Cleo said, smiling.

"Um, the view here is very nice," Emma replied, looking out over the bay.

"No silly; the view from your hotel," Bella said. "I hear it is very nice."

"Uh, I don't know," Emma confessed, blushing.

"Told you," Rikki said to Cleo.

"Okay, that's enough you guys," Rowan said, having just walked up to interrupt. "Besides, it's time to toast the bride and groom."

"So how much of Hawaii did you two see?" Emma asked Rikki as they walked back to join with the rest of the group.

"None of your business," Rikki replied and then laughed. "I'm sorry Emma; I couldn't resist. After all the teasing Zane and I received…"

"Forgiven, just knock it off," Emma told her with a smile.

In front of the pool a table had been set up with flutes of champagne. Rowan motioned everyone forward to get a glass, including Elliot. Once Emma and Ash had their champagne, the party looked to Lewis, as the best man, to start the toasts.

As Lewis walked forward to stand next to Ash and Emma, he stumbled on an inlaid tile surrounding the pool. Losing his balance he fell forward, right into Emma, causing her to step backwards, towards the pool. Emma put her foot down but missed the edge of the cement and started to tumble backwards.

"Ash!" Emma cried as she reached out her hands to grab Ash to stop herself from falling.

But she missed and instead of grabbing Ash's hands to keep her from going into the pool she grabbed Lewis, and together the two of them tumbled into the water with a splash.

"Help!" Ash said to Zane and Will, knowing that they had just a few seconds before Emma's transformation.

Thinking quickly Zane turned and took Emma's parents by the hands and pulled them towards the side of the hill where the grotto entrance was.

"Come on, while Ash gets Emma out of the pool let's get some towels," he told them.

"I need to help Emma," Mrs. Gilbert said, protesting.

"I've got it, Mom!" Ash called out, kneeling by the pool to block Emma's parents' view. "We need those towels."

"Come on, Lisa," Mr. Gilbert told his wife. "Your son-in-law is taking care of her. What they need are the towels."

Mollified, Mrs. Gilbert let Zane lead them into the grotto. As they went inside the others could hear her say, "He called me Mom!"

Ash turned back to where Emma was surfacing in the pool next to Lewis. Suddenly he remembered that they had one more problem.

"Elliot!" Ash called out.

* * *

But it was too late. As Elliot watched, his eyes getting wide, the pool around Emma and Lewis suddenly bubbled and he saw a ripple go through his sister. For a moment it looked like she was made of water.

But what shocked the rest of the party was the ripple that went through Lewis at the same time, so that he looked to be made of water. When the rippled stopped and bubbles vanished there were two tails in the pool, one orange and one blue. Emma was no longer wearing her pretty pale blue dress; instead she was wearing a seaweed bikini top. And Lewis, he was shirtless, with just the blue tail that made up his lower body.

"My sister's a mermaid!" Elliot exclaimed.

"Shush!" Ash told him. "Your parents could hear."

"And Lewis, you're a …" Rikki said softly.

The entire group looked between Cleo and Lewis.

"Cleo, did you know?" Bella asked.

Cleo nodded.

"He did it to be closer to me, during the last full moon," Cleo explained. "We were trying to figure out how to tell you guys."

Emma looked Lewis over and ducked her head under water to look at his tail. Other than it being blue it looked just like a mermaid tail. Surfacing she gave Lewis a smile.

"Nice tail, Lewis," Emma told him. "I like it."

"Thanks," Lewis replied. "So do I."

* * *

"Lewis is a merman?" Elliot asked as Ash and Will pulled Emma and Lewis out of the pool, onto the concrete apron. "Wait, what about you two?"

Elliot looked right at Rikki and Cleo, who were standing nearby, careful to not get wet. The two glanced at each other then nodded.

"Yes, us too," Cleo told him. "But Elliot; you can't tell anyone, especially your parents!"

"Elliot, promise me you won't tell anyone," Emma said. "This has got to remain a secret."

"What about you two?" Elliot asked Ash and Zane.

"No, we're not mermen," Ash replied. "Look, I'm wet and didn't change."

"Me either," Zane said.

"Oh man, this sure explains a lot," Elliot said, looking thoughtful.

"Elliot, promise me!" Emma said. "Hurry, before Mom and Dad get back."

"Am I the only one besides them who didn't know?" Elliot asked, looking around the group.

Everyone nodded.

"Yes, but now you know," Rikki told him.

"Please Elliot?" Emma asked.

"I promise," Elliot finally said. "Because I love you, sis."

"Dry me off quick!" Emma said to Rikki who clenched her hand and steam formed around both her and Lewis.

A few seconds later both Emma and Lewis rippled and turned back into their human forms, much to Elliot's astonishment.

"Wow," he said as Emma and Lewis carefully stood up.

"You guys better go inside and change!" Rowan said loudly to them and Emma and Lewis ran for the door and out of sight.

* * *

"Where's Emma?" Mrs. Gilbert asked, coming back out of the grotto, a towel in her hand.

Mr. Gilbert was right behind her, as was Zane. Zane gave them a questioning look and saw Rikki nod her head.

"They went inside to change," Rowan told the Gilberts. "Don't want to stand around in wet clothing."

"But the towels…" Mrs. Gilbert said.

"Oh, sorry, Zane didn't know that I have some swim towels stashed over here," Rowan explained, indicating a storage box near the back door to the house.

"I better see if she needs help with her hair," Mrs. Gilbert said but Mr. Gilbert grabbed her arm.

"Lisa! She's all grown up, and married to boot," he told his wife. "Let her go."

Mrs. Gilbert started to cry.

"But she's my baby girl!" she protested.

"Mom!" Elliot exclaimed. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Hush, Elliot," Mr. Gilbert said. "And just wait until its your turn; you're not going to believe her then."

"Neil!" Mrs. Gilbert exclaimed, shocked.

"Now Lisa, calm down," Mr. Gilbert said with a smile. "I'm just teasing."

* * *

It took a few more minutes and then Emma and Lewis came out of the house. Both had changed their clothes, but their hair looked exactly the same as before. The others had all gotten used to the girls looking exactly the same as before they got wet, and ignored it, but as Emma's parents greeted them Mrs. Gilbert noticed Emma's dry hair and hairstyle.

"Emma, how did you do that?" Mrs. Gilbert asked.

"Do what, Mom?" Emma asked.

"You hair, it looks great!" Mrs. Gilbert replied.

"Oh, I didn't really get my hair wet when I fell in," Emma explained. "So all I had to do was brush it a little."

Mrs. Gilbert seemed to accept that from Emma and it was promptly forgotten by all, except for Elliot. Elliot continued to stare at Emma and her friends, as well as Lewis, trying to see what he could see. But they looked completely normal, now that they were out of the water and dry. Elliot thought about what had been said, and resolved to do some research on Mako, moon pools, water, and full moons once he got back.

* * *

Finally they were ready to toast the bride and groom. Lewis carefully took his position by Emma and Ash and raised his glass, then paused. Everyone raised their own glass and waited for him to talk.

"I remember when Ash first came to the café; he was an outsider and many of us resented him."

Lewis looked right at Emma and winked at her.

"But as we got to know him we discovered what a good friend he was and when he went away to school at the same time that Emma and her family went on their trip, we realized that we missed him as well."

"During Emma's welcome home party Ash proposed and Emma accepted. When we heard that they were engaged we thought that they'd be the first to get married. But it turns out that they're the last."

"So in honor of Emma and Ash finally tying the knot, let's raise our glasses and say to them, It's About Time!"

"Hear, hear," everyone said and drank from their glasses.

Cleo started up to present her own toast, but Emma held up her hand.

"First, we want to say something," Emma said. "Yes, we were the first to be engaged. And the last to get married. But through it all you all stuck by us and were great friends. So thanks! Now Ash and I would like to propose a toast, to you guys who got married before us: to Bella and Will, to Rikki and Zane, and to Cleo and Lewis. Congratulations and thank you, guys!"

* * *

Everyone raised their glasses and drank and then another round of toasts began. After the toasting everyone went to get something to eat and headed for the waiting chairs and tables. On the way back from the food table Elliot stepped in aside Lewis, who was heading for where Cleo had sat.

"So Lewis, you're a merman?" Elliot asked softly.

"Yes, I am a merman," Lewis said. "The only one. Going to keep your promise?"

"Of course," Elliot replied.

"Good man; thanks," Lewis said.

Lewis turned, leaving Elliot heading for his parent's table. Looking at Ash, Zane, and Will, he smiled.

"The only one for now, anyway," Lewis muttered, too softly for anyone else to hear.

* * *

 _Concluded with Chapter 14, Epilogue..._

Thanks, maybe one more surprise to come...


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue** **-** **Chapter 14 of The Camera Doesn't Lie**

And this is it...

* * *

Several weeks later things were mostly back to normal in The Gold Coast. Emma and Ash had finished their honeymoon and had found a flat near the café; they were both enrolled for the next term at the university there and were getting used to being married.

Rikki and Zane were back running the café, although the staff noticed that they seemed to spend a lot of time kissing instead of managing. There were also several times when the staff needed them they were nowhere to be found.

Bella and Will still lived in Will's shack down by the pier, close to the water. With Bella's assistance Will had setup a profitable business selling and supplying marine artifacts, many rare. Will still ran his dive boat, but wished he had more help.

Cleo's father and stepmother had finally forgiven Cleo and particularly Lewis for eloping and had helped the two get their own apartment. Both worked at the local Sea World, but in the research department, as their knowledge of the local reef astonished even the staff there. Both took great care not to get wet, at least not in public.

The Yanks had promised to come visit, hopefully during their winter when it was summer in the Gold Coast. Melanie in particular was anxious to visit and see the Mako Island moon pool for herself.

Elliot had quietly asked some questions and had also done some research on the side. Based on that information he had learned a lot about mermaids and Mako Island. On the night of the full moon he called up Kim at the Sertori's house.

"Hey, Kim, it's Elliot," he told her over the phone. "How would you like to go on a moonlit boat ride with me tonight?"

* * *

 _The End_

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought. Reviews and comments welcome!

And while you're at it, please read my crossover story (H2O/Vampire Diaries) "The Meredead"


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